


Question Of Immortality

by heilige_bos



Category: Cucumber Quest
Genre: Gen, Headcannon relationships, I am not sorry, Minor Character Death, Non-canon family ties, Quakemaster and Obsidian would be the only romantic relationship that survives the end, Sibling Rivalry, The author also has no creativity to names, The author is flying of the edge of their seats on headcannons, They're cool at the end don't worry, not yet anyway hueheuheheuhe, or anything for that matter, redemption arcs are the tea
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-13
Updated: 2019-08-23
Packaged: 2019-10-27 05:57:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 52,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17761097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heilige_bos/pseuds/heilige_bos
Summary: In which our Legendary Heroes lose Legendary Dream Sword™ and the Oracle needs to cough out her plan B.Alternate Summarisation: Immortality for Dummies.Note* Lots of Cucumber Quest Spoilers. Really, you gotta read it till the end of the update. Or till the end of Chapter 4, at least.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> The first work on this account and its Cucumber Quest. Honestly, part of the reason I even signed up is the fact that there are close to no good CQ fanfictions. It's okay, I'm here now.  
> Got the plot worked out, multiple chapters, of course, some fluff because I am soft as heck. Also, some angst because why not? Lots and lots of spoilers. If thou hasn't readeth the update, thou shall not pass.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which we take a look at the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> If you've been reading since the first time I updated, you might find this chapter to be a bit different than what you read the first time.  
> To those who haven't, don't worry. Nothing plot-wise has changed.

The Legendary Hero stared down at his opponent, The Sword of Dreams held tight in his hand. Pushing his orange hair out of his eyes, he glared down at the kneeling figure in an arrogant, triumphant way. The battle had been fierce and long. As his stomach churned, his mind flashed briefly to the welcoming feast back home. If his sister didn’t already arrange a feast by the time he got home, he would throw a tantrum he’d swear to that. What’s good moral support without the food. But before he could go home, he had to deal with this first.

The creature beneath him drew a ragged breath and he gripped his sword tighter as the figure released a pained chuckle.

“Oh, that was a good move, I admit. I did not see that coming,” baleful yellow eyes flicked upwards in an amused, sickening way. 

It was odd, the Hero thought, how a creature with no features except its eyes could portray just as well as a regular face could.

“You know, you could at least look the least bit regretful,” the Hero spat. “You did just bring destruction to an innocent world, and if you’re not upset morally, is the fact that I beat you not enough to make you sorry?”

“Ah, but I am not beaten, Hero.”

Green eyes blinked, and the hero barked out a laugh. “‘Not beaten’? I find that hard to believe from a creature with a stab wound in its chest.”

The figure below him stubbornly refused to back down, and those hateful eyes blinked lazily. The hero reeled slightly; he was dying, how could he be acting like nothing was wrong?

“Yes, yes, you stabbed me with a blade that can harm me, well done. I see the Oracle held nothing back with her gifts.” Those eyes rested on the sword for a fraction of a second before flicking back to the Hero. “But surely you did not think you could kill an immortal, did you?”

The statement left the Hero in silence, which, he supposed, was an answer in itself.

“Oh, you did. Well, I’d hate to disappoint. Honestly, I would’ve told you but I’d have thought the Oracle’s favoured child, playing ‘Hero’, would have the smallest inkling of sense-“

“Silence, Nightmare Knight,” the hero growled out.

The Nightmare Knight merely looked more amused. “It looks to me you’ve traded sense for a temper.”

The hero struggled for words, then blurted out; “The Oracle will find a way to stop you. If I don’t, she will.”

“Oh? You honestly think so?”

The Hero raised his head. “I know it so.”

In truth, he hadn’t even asked on whether or not he could actually kill The Knight; he was simply given The Sword, been shown the vague direction of where he was supposed to swing it, and started swinging. But this, even he knew, could be a problem.  
How was one supposed to defeat an enemy that would not die? 

At the moment, however, a sudden, bright, tinted-blue light started shining somewhere behind him, and he half-turned, not wanting to put his back to both Known Enemy nor May-Or-May-Not-Be-Enemy-Newcomer. The caution was unneeded, however, as the Oracle herself materialised in the midst of the light.

Through his peripheral vision, he saw The Knight tense ever so slightly and felt a tingle of satisfaction. So the creature did fear the Oracle, he thought smugly, as it should. 

Her Dreamship’s form towered over the Hero and the now shrunken Knight. 

He paused; when had The Knight shrunk? The Hero clearly remembered having to climb a rather large incline just to get to its chest.  
He grimaced lightly. Even if his mind had forgotten, his legs surely wouldn’t.

“Gherkin, my favoured child, my hero.” The Oracle smiled, her two eyes twinkling warmly. Her third seemed to be having a fierce staring battle with The Knight.

“Your Dreamship.” Gherkin knelt, resting the sword beside him as he bowed his head. This rare show of humility from him made the Dream Oracle smile and provoked a not-so-silent scoff from The Knight. 

“My lady, how much of our exchange did you hear?” Gherkin asked.

The smile vanished. “I assume you would ask me on how we would defeat a deathless enemy,” she said. It wasn’t a question. This only made Gherkin even more convinced of the Oracle’s all-seeing ability. It was humbling to know that his life was being observed constantly. At least, as humbling as it can be for someone like him. 

This time, all three of the Oracle’s eyes settled on The Knight, the slight twitching of her facial fins the only sign of her nervousness when faced with her old nemesis.

“Hello dear,” The Knight purred.

The Oracle stuttered, “I-I’m not your ‘dear’.”

“Be wary of your tongue, creature,” Gherkin drawled. The Knight gave him an amused glance.

“How fares your son?” The Knight asked, malicious compliance dripping from its voice.

“He is not my- oh, enough of this!” The Oracle practically screeched. “I’ll have you know that even if we can’t kill you we can defeat you.”

The Knight tilted its head, clearly not believing her.

“Don’t look at me like that,” The Oracle snapped. “I know you think I’m lying, but the Dream Sword was never meant to kill you, Sir Knight-”

“Well, it seemed it hadn’t done anything it wasn’t supposed to, then. You must be very happy.”

“-but it was meant to contain you.”

The Knight blinked its yellow eyes. Then he snarled out, “You wouldn’t dare-“

“I dare so and it’s done,” The Oracle declared triumphantly, her eyes following the cracks that had begun to form when The Sword was driven through, and now began spreading in earnest.

The Knight shifted as if it wanted to get up, then seemed to have changed its mind. “No matter, you cannot keep me contained forever, Protector. Even if you have managed to weave a spell so, there will be some way to release me, and my Masters-“

“Your Masters are dead, Creature,” Gherkin sneered, satisfied with the way it flinched as if it were struck.

The Knight fixed its yellow eyes on the child. “The same ‘death’ that will befall me, I suppose?”

Gherkin lifted his head in a matter of response when in truth, he hadn’t really known. He really should’ve asked before swinging, shouldn’t he?

“Well, if not my masters, some Dreamsiders perhaps,” The Knight shrugged, returning to its unbothered demeanour.

“No one will ever-“ Gherkin started.

“I wouldn’t be too quick to assume, Hero. Greed is a skilled persuader,” The Knight interrupted him.

Gherkin tensed as he glared at the creature. For a few moments, a silent battle of wits happened between the two. Finally, The Knight drew its eyes away from the child to face the Oracle in a stubborn notion to face it’s enemy even when it's kneeling on the ground before her. 

Even when cracks had begun to form on its face.

“Don’t get too bored when I’m gone,” The Knight purred, but it turned into a wheeze at the end as The Knight doubled over, clutching at its chest.

“I don’t intend to,” The Oracle replied coolly and turned her back to The Knight to face Gherkin.

“I managed to bring your companions and your sister to safety, would you like them here?” she asked.

“If you can, Your Dreamship, thank you,” Gherkin answered. Once more, there was a flash of light and his sister, Peanut, and his friends appeared by his side.

“Gherkin!” Peanut cried, tackling him in a hug. “You did it! I knew you could, I told you so!”

Gherkin laughed and returned the hug, clutching tightly to his sister's clothes. “God I missed you, sis.”

“You’d better.” Peanut drew away, beaming, her eyes twinkling mischievously. “Or not I would’ve had to cancel the feast back home.”

“I knew I could trust you.” Gherkin grinned. Peanut smiled before something behind him drew her gaze away, and she gasped. He whipped around to see The Knight staring at their exchange with an unreadable expression.

Instinctively, he held out an arm to shield his sister from anything the creature might try.

But instead, oddly, The Knight simply fixed the Hero with a strange, unreadable and unsettling gaze before a flash of bright, purple light blinded him and The Knight was no more.

Standing in its place was a small, rounded purple stone, with stars decorating its surface.

 

 

* * *

 

The Oracle sighed contentedly. The people of the Doughnut Kingdom truly knew how to serve, the food here at the feast was nearing ambrosian.

“Your Dreamship?” A voice asked behind her. She turned with a smile to greet her favourite hero.

“Yes, Gherkin? What troubles you at a time when you should be celebrating?” The Oracle asked. Although, she had the smallest notion of what it was.

“Something the creature said troubled me. I did not know it was immortal.” The child shifted nervously before blurting out, “I think we need a contingency plan, Your Dreamship.”

The Oracle blinked her blue eyes, her fins twitching in surprise. “A contingency plan? I was quite sure you were perfectly fine with the Dream Sword being the only plan.”

“Well, I was, but should the Nightmare Knight rise again? Should the sword somehow be lost? I worry for what would happen in the distant future, Your Dreamship.”

“Don’t, my child, worry is an ugly look on you.” The Oracle pushed a stray strand of hair away from those emerald eyes. “You’ve worked hard, and your story is nearing its end, you should be celebrating,” she insisted.

But still, the child refused to be satisfied and looked up at her with eyes so troubled she simply didn’t stand much of a chance against it.

“Oh, very well,” The Oracle sighed. “If it puts your mind at ease, I will begin working on a contingency plan.”

Immediately, Gherkin relaxed and bowed his head. “Thank you, Dreamship.”

Just then, a cry of “Gherkin!” drew their attention to the younger sister, who was waving him over to speak with her and his questing companions.

“If you will excuse me.” he turned and jogged over, a smile illuminating his face as he engaged in lively conversation.

The Oracle sighed and twisted, disappearing from the festive and reappearing in her home in the Rock Candy Caves not too far from there. She supposed a contingency plan was for the best, seeing as world domination and possibly world annihilation was what would happen should they fail in the future.

“Cabernet? Where is that little- Cabernet?” she called as she materialised in her home.

“Your Dreamship? You called?” The little fairy bobbed somewhere in front of her.

“Yes. Gherkin the Hero has brought something to my attention; I would like to prepare a contingency plan should the Dream Sword fail its duty,” she told him.

“Fail? That seems very unlikely, Your Dreamship, but very well, what did you have in mind?” he asked, bringing out a small piece of parchment for notes.

“I want you to find out what exactly makes The Nightmare Knight immortal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, Cucumber Quest.  
> If you're updated on ggdgg's twitter, or you just went to check on the comic, you'd find news that were slightly heartbreaking.  
> But it's fine, I'm a fanfic writer. I fix these things.  
> And besides, it's still on. It's just on hiatus.  
> Right?
> 
> To my older readers, if you continue down this path, you might find new landmarks you haven't seen yet.  
> To my newer readers, have fun.


	2. Chapter 1: Have You Seen This Sword?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which The Heroes are doomed and we meet some unfamiliar (?) faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.

"You're lifesavers! Thanks for bringing our wand back."

Cucumber gripped his wand in his hand, a soft smile on his face as the actress playing Pumice on the show Punisher Pumice introduced herself.

Instantly, Almond screeched in trademark fangirl fashion. As Cucumber shook his ears to get rid of the ringing, he tried to remember when was the last time he heard Almond squeal like that.

He didn’t think he had ever heard Almond squeal like that.

"Now all we need is to find the prop for the Dream Sword," the actress, Tephra, said.

"The Dream Sword?" Nautilus, princess of the Ripple Kingdom, bearer of Liquus and the ability to order pizza when no one's in the mood for it, echoed. Her eyes behind her rounded glasses narrowed.

"Oh yeah, the latest episode included-" Almond screeched and covered her ears. "- The Nightmare Knight returning to Dreamside and the Two Punishers had to stop him by taking the Dream Sword," Tephra informed them.

Cucumber felt his eyebrows go up; that seemed interesting.

Almond lowered her hands with a dejected look. "I heard that," she complained.

"Oh, it's alright Almond." Nautilus moved to comfort the True Hero of the story, while Cucumber decided to question about the Dream Sword

"So, wait. You got a Dream Sword prop?" he asked, to which Tephra simply nodded.

"Yep! Looked real lifelike too, had most of the signatures on it and everything, we got a really good deal out of it," she sighed in a wistful way.

Meanwhile, Cucumber had gotten that feeling of dread again. It seems he got a lot of those the moment the quest started.

"Who did you say made the deal with you again?" he asked, slightly fearful of the answer.

"I didn't, but that's okay. She used a fake name, I'm sure. What was it again? Wednesday? Thursday?"

"Saturday?" he suggested with a grimace on his face.

"That's the one! You're friends with her?"

"Wouldn't exactly call it that," he muttered.

"Huh, well she sold it to us and went on her way for some 'urgent business'. I thought it was a bit pricey at first but hey, like I said. Lifelike." She emphasised this by spreading her fingers at the sides of her face.

"Well, thanks for letting us know, that helps a lot. Hey, Nautilus! Almond! Come over here, I got some good news," he called, and the two girls walked over.

"Saturday sold the Dream Sword to Silver Studios and it's in here, right now," he told them.

Both of their expressions’ lit up like Christmas lights.

"Oh, well done! Let me see if I can get Sir Carrot to convince Princess Amertine over real quick. That'll solve a ton of our problems," Nautilus beamed, then proceeded to find someplace to contact Carrot.

Cucumber figured that she'd also have to get a phone, seeing as Liquus wasn't responding. Perhaps he should ask about that, he thought, and maybe comfort her about it too. It was the least he could do after what she'd done for them.

"Hey, well done." Almond clapped his shoulder, grinning. "So, uh, where is it?"

"Well, uh," Cucumber faltered.

"We've seemed to have lost it amongst the wreckage, but we'll find it," Tephra assured them.

"Wreckage?" Cucumber echoed.

"Without me?" Almond scowled.

"Yep, I wasn't there, but from what I'd been told the Nightmare Knight himself seem to really not like the portrayal. He destroyed our equipment and gave Gary a nasty shock I heard, but that seems to be it," she listed, counting off her fingers.

"Hey, aren't you- Yeah, I knew it! You're those hero kids!"

Both Cucumber and Almond blinked in surprise when a sudden newcomer came, beaming wide.

"Oh, hey Bacon. You know these kids?" Tephra asked.

"Bacon?!" Cucumber and Almond yelped.

"Yep! You should've come by earlier, your girlfriend came by to get my autograph, and she screamed and ran away when I asked her how you were," Bacon informed them pleasantly, while Cucumber was watching the subtle signs of blush on his sister with wonder.

"Speaking of friends, wasn't Carrot with you before?" Bacon asked, looking around as if they could spot Carrot hiding behind a pillar somewhere.

"He was. I just called him and he said he and Princess Ametrine would be here soon," Nautilus popped up, smiling. "Good to see you, Bacon."

"You too!" they beamed.

"So, hey, Cucumber? Where's the sword?" Nautilus asked and looked around as if she could see the Dream Sword of Legend hidden behind a pillar somewhere.

"Sword? Wait, the Dream Sword prop was the real thing?" Bacon asked.

At first, they looked excited. But afterwards, they had this grimace on their face.

"Uh oh."

"Uh oh? Why are we 'uh oh-ing?'" Almond demanded.

"Well, well, uh, you see. The Nightmare Knight came over and he destroyed our equipment, and the Sword was in there too and, well.." Bacon fidgeted with her hands, "..I guess the Sword fell through one of the cracks..?"

"It what?!" the three heroes cried out.

"But-but we need that sword," Cucumber wailed, grabbing onto his ears in panic. "It's the only way to get rid of the Nightmare Knight!"

“Are you sure it’s gone?” Nautilus inquired, desperation clear in the undertones of her voice.

“Well, if it makes you feel better.” Bacon stepped aside to let the Heroes into the Studio, and they all ran in.

 

* * *

 

 

Cucumber would give this to The Nightmare Knight; he sure knew how to make a scene.

After a few steps in, he had to stop to fully process what he was seeing. Cracks could be seen on almost every surface, the ones on the floor most evident, with smoke wafting upwards. Equipment was charred and smoking, it’s pieces scattered. Pieces of rubble were strewn across the room, in piles or appearing randomly in odd places - Cucumber thought he saw a few pieces balancing precariously on the wires on the ceiling.

Almond skidded to a stop a few steps in front of him, her jaw hanging open as her fists clenched and unclenched. “How dare he wreck Punisher Pumice?! Look at this! It’s all ruined!” Almond keened.

“Uh, it’s okay, doesn’t the Crystal Kingdom have the best builders in Dreamside?” Cucumber reassured her, “I’m sure they’ll have it fixed in time for the next episode.”

At this, Almond calmed down reasonably. She sighed, “You’re right, Cuco. I’ll have to have faith in Pumice, she’d never let the show down!”

Nautilus, who was the only one that looked around, walked over, her head shaking. “I’m sorry guys, I can’t see it anywhere,” she apologised, wringing her hands nervously.

“Great, all that work, only to just lose it before we even got a chance to use it,” Almond grumbled. “How are we supposed to fight the Nightmare Knight now?”

“How is anyone going to defeat the Nightmare Knight?” Cucumber contemplated, “I don’t know about you guys, but I think this cycle is going to turn out very different from the others.”

“Poor Princess Ametrine,” Nautilus murmured. “She and Sir Carrot would have come over all for nothing.”

“She’s not going to like that,” Almond muttered.

“No kidding.” Cucumber thought about the slightly intense princess and had to repress a shudder. Seeing the heir to the Crystal Kingdom upset was not something he’d like to do.

“Let me see if I can contact Carrot and tell them the Sword is missing,” Nautilus looked around for a phone, then stopped as something else caught her eye. “Uh, what’s that?”

Heads swivelled over to look.

Cucumber squinted at the silhouettes pointed, then his eyes widened as one of the silhouettes started getting larger and larger until-

“Hwaaa! Hey guys!” A jack-o-lanterns smile greeted them as their owner lunged forward to wrap Nautilus in a hug.

“Besty?!” The three heroes cried out, though Nautilus cried out in more of a fond way, and she returned the hug. “

What are you doing here?” she asked the Disaster Master clutching at her clothes.

“Last time we saw you, you were in a bathtub drain,” Almond added.

“Did you not like it?” Cucumber asked.

“Sure I did. In fact, I have to thank you for that. Without that bathtub drain, I never would’ve found Stevie.” Thebestmaster bobbed up and down in front of them.

“Wait, ‘find Stevie’? Didn’t you say Steve was the Nightmare Knight?” Cucumber asked.

“Isn’t he?” Besty tilted his head.

The conversation stopped to a standstill for a few awkward moments before Nautilus yelped aloud; “Oh!”

“‘Oh’? Did you forget something else?” Cucumber asked.

“I didn’t think it was important, because I thought they were wrong.” Nautilus defended herself. “But in some versions of the legends, it was said that they were two Nightmare Knights.”

“Two?!”

“Oh, I remember that,” Besty nodded, bobbing up excitedly. “The other one didn’t think I was good enough, but Stevie did! Stevie thought I was perfect!”

“Uh, where is ‘Stevie’ anyway?” Cucumber asked.

“Yea, and is he amigo or enemigo?” Almond demanded, and to her companions’ questioning gazes, she added, “Heard it on tv once.”

“Oh, he’s right there.” Besty pointed with a gloved hand to something behind them, and the heroes whipped around and came face to face with-

Nothing.

Cucumber blinked for a few moments, wondering if ‘Stevie’ was invisible.

“Hey, good work kiddo, they totally fell for it,” a new voice said somewhere behind them and the heroes whipped around once more to see a tall figure floating next to Thebestmaster.

He was skinny and lanky, with small arms and large legs. His light blue, scarf-like cape shimmered behind them, growing larger and accumulating behind them both. His toothy grin stretched wider when the heroes turned around and he gave a small, slightly meek wave.

“Hey kids, I’m Steve.”  

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

_It wasn’t gradual, it didn’t have steps._

_It was sudden, instantaneous._

_One moment the space was empty and the next, it wasn’t._

_He was there._

_He was floating in the space, his cape floating below him, supporting him._

_He had his eyes closed the first few minutes, or was it hours, years? Time was fussy here, he knew, but when he blinked them open, he was hit with the sudden realization that he knew nothing._

_He knew words, he knew languages, he knew he should twist this way to get the right-side-up. But things like his name, who he was, what he was and where he was came up blank._

_There was one thing he did know, however, knew with perfect clarity the moment he opened his eyes._

_He knew he wasn’t alone._

_So he floated off, looking around, looking for something._

_No, looking for someone._

_Another form floated in front of him, and as he floated closer, he could see that they were wearing their cape like a scarf and that it was light-blue in colour._

_He stopped then, twisting his head to look at his own, vibrant purple cape. He ran his fingers through the cape and felt a surge of overwhelming power-_

_The figure turned._

_And they smiled._

_And he turned away from his cape and that immeasurable power._

_And even though he himself did not have a mouth._

_He smiled back._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On the subject of The Nightmare Knight's smiles, it's a bit hard to have one when you don't have a mouth. However, it is my personal headcanon that The Knight's eyes just curve upwards.   
> He smiles with his eyes.  
> That's nice.


	3. Chapter 2: I think he's an Amigo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which The Oracle is upset.  
> Steve has an idea.  
> Nautilus gets a phone call.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> I had forgotten to mention this;  
> I would absolutely appreciate any sort of feedback that may improve my writing skills.  
> I mean, this is my first work, I'm always looking for ways to improve.  
> Thanks a bunch!

The heroes stared at Steve for a full two minutes before Almond, master of gestures, drew her sword.

“Oh, uh, it’s okay, it’s okay, I’m an amigo,” Steve assured them, raising his hands.

Almond lowered her sword. “Y’know, that’s all you had to say.”

“Is it?” Cucumber asked.

“Hello Steve,” Nautilus greeted. “I’m Nautilus, and these are my companions, Cucumber and Almond. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Is it?!” Cucumber asked again.

“Thanks. Ditto to you guys as well.” Steve grinned, placing his hands on his hips. “Besty here talks about you guys a lot.”

“He does?” 

“Sure do, you guys are too good for him, not that I’m saying my boy here isn’t good enough.” he rubbed his knuckles on Besty’s head affectionately.

“Hwaa. Thanks, Stevie. What are you guys doing here?” Besty asked.

“Well, we got sidetracked finding Cuco’s wand, now we’re dealing with the fact that we lost the Dream Sword.” Almond scowled. “It’s not going too good.”

“Ah, I wouldn’t worry too much.” Steve waved a hand in a dismissive gesture. “You seem like smart kids, I’m sure you’ll figure it out.”

"That's," Nautilus paused before exclaiming, "super optimistic! You should learn something from Steve, Cucumber. It might help."

"Aw, nonsense. I'm not that great." Steve rubbed the back of his neck, flattered.

"And he's humble! It truly is a delight to meet you, Steve." Nautilus beamed. 

Steve chuckled. "The pleasure's all mine, really. But on the subject of your sword problem, I have an idea that might help all of us here." 

"Sure you do," Almond raised a sceptic eyebrow, much to Nautilus's chagrin.

"Now, hey, it's alright," Steve cut in the princess's outraged outburst, "she's smart not to trust me right away. After all, we just met."

Steve, although not having eyes, was perfectly capable of giving them the impression of an intense stare. "and I'm guessing I don't look like their favourite person in Dreamside, huh?"

The heroes could only stare in silence before Betsy offered, "He doesn't like him too, y'know."

"Yep, the  **other guy** and I, we got a bone to pick." Steve's grin suddenly seemed to be very, very dangerous. "So here's my plan. You get yourselves an idea on how to fight him, I'll do whatever I can to help."

"Please?" Besty added.

It took them a few minutes, but the heroes agreed.

"Great." Steve rubbed his hands together, his grin back to being relaxed and friendly. "So uh, ideas?"

"We're, uh," Cucumber stuttered, "working on that."

"Maybe the Dream Oracle has some ideas," Nautilus mused.

“Dreamy, eh? She might.” Steve nodded in approval. “You guys got some way to call her?”

“What if we just shout out her name, really loudly?” Besty suggested.

“Hey, that might work! But I’ve got a different idea.” Almond grinned, inhaled, and shouted at the top of her lungs;

“THE DREAM ORACLE IS A SELFISH, NEGLIGENT, ALIEN!”

The room was silent for a few seconds, then Nautilus said, “Or I could call Chardonnay.”

Just then, a sudden, blinding light flashed and the Dream Oracle materialised, all three of her eyes narrowed dangerously. “Who DARES-!”

“Or not,” Nautilus muttered.

Almond grinned wider.

“Uh, sorry about that.” Cucumber stepped forward, raising his hands in a placating gesture. “My sister meant none of that, Your Dreamship, we just needed to get your attention.”

The Oracle glared at the heroes in turn, but when her eyes fell on Steve and Besty, the latter of which bobbed up and waved cheerily and the former of which grinned and waved mischievously, she gasped and floated back a few inches. “Is that-?”

“Oh, yeah, when were you planning on telling us we got two Knights?” Almond demanded, crossing her arms. 

Cucumber silently began writing their obituaries.

The Oracle huffed indignantly. “Why should I’ve ever done so? He wasn’t in the equation- “

“Hey,” Steve protested.

“-and it would’ve only made you guys freak out. But now I suppose he is very much  _ in  _ the equation, now,” she added the last bit in a mutter.

“Nice to see you too, Dreamy,” Steve purred. The Dream Oracle bristled.

“Do NOT call me ‘Dreamy’, that is  _ not _ my name,” she hissed. Although Cucumber noticed she kept a respectable distance from the second knight.

Steve only grinned wider. “Aw, you really did miss me, didn’t ya?”

“I did not-!”

“Ahem, Your Dreamship?” Nautilus cut in the Oracle’s very loud and not at all convincing protest. “We have a problem.”

“Oh, what is it this time? You want me to look in the future again?” The Oracle crossed her arms and narrowed her two eyes at the hero, her third frantically making sure they had Steve in their sights.

“How’s ‘we lost the Dream Sword’ work?” Almond asked, her arms also crossed.

The Oracle stared at the heroes for a few minutes of silence before, finally, emitting a soft; “Oh.”

“Yea, we’re, uh, sorry about that,” Cucumber offered. “Please tell us you got a Plan B.” 

The Oracle snorted, “Yes, of course, I do.”

“Oh, thank god,” Cuco exhaled a sigh of relief.

“The only problem is that I don’t.”

The Legendary Heroes, along with Steve and Thebestmaster, all stared at The Legendary Dream Oracle, Protector of Dreamside, waiting for her to elaborate.

She didn’t.

“Huh,” Besty said after a few minutes of silence, “you’re right, Almond, she  _ is  _ negligent.”

“Told ya.” Almond shrugged her shoulders, ignoring the Oracle’s stutters of protest.

“I-I do have a contingency plan,” she fumed. “It’s just I have no way to carry it out! Without the Dream Sword all blades will simply bounce off him there’s no way-“

“Oh, that’s it?”

Heads swivelled to face Steve, who was floating a few inches off the ground, his arms crossed. Everything about his posture relaxed and unbothered.

“Well, I mean, if the only reason you can’t use Plan B is that you can’t touch him, you don’t need to worry about that,” he grinned. “I can, after all.”

"You can?" The Oracle echoed. "How?"

Steve floated so that he was leaning forward, his grin smaller now that he was lost in thought.

"Hm, well. Him and I, we’re like the last of a species, ya know? So we were a civilisation and all," his tone turned wistful, "pretty sure we even had a culture and everything."

"What happened?" Nautilus asked. Steve's grin grew smaller as he waved the question aside.

"Doesn't matter now, does it? Anyway, so we studied a lot and we - well, I - found out that the only reason we are called 'immortals' is that we were too powerful to be killed by any weaker beings. And we were pretty much the strongest things in existence. However, should another immortal choose to strike down an immortal," he spread his arms in a matter of conclusion.

"Wait, does that mean that the Oracle could’ve taken on taken on The Knight this entire time?” Almond gave the Dream Oracle the stink eye.

“Nah, Dreamy here wouldn’t have lasted long against him. A fight between a mortal and an immortal would be impossible, but a fight between two immortals would just be like any regular fight. I mean the offence,  **Your Pal** going against Dreamy would’ve been easily conclusive,” Steve explained, grinning at the Oracle’s outraged stutters.

“But if The Dream Oracle couldn’t have taken on The Nightmare Knight, what makes it that you can?” Cucumber mused aloud. Too late, he realised what he said and he hurriedly stuttered, “U-uh, I didn’t mean-”

“It’s fine, kiddo, I got what you meant.” Despite ‘getting what he meant’, Steve’s grin gained some of the dangerous flairs to it again, but he shrugged and it was gone. 

“Him and I, I guess you could say we ‘grew up’ together. I know his tricks, I can take him,” he assured them, though he gave Besty an odd look while he said it.

“Well, that settles it then!” Besty beamed, “We got our plan, now all we need is for the Oracle to tell us what it is!”

Once again, heads turned, and the Oracle sighed, “Oh, alright, the secret to The Nightmare Knights immortality is-”

_ BEEP BEEP BEEP _

Everyone, save for Steve, The Oracle, and Besty, who all simply jolted mid-air, jumped in surprise as Nautilus’s RIS began beeping.

“Huh? What’s going-” she fished it out, then squinted at the screen, her eyes widening as she comprehended what was going on. “Whoa!”

“What? What is it?” Cucumber asked, shaking in suspense.

Nautilus turned the RIS around so that its screen was facing them, “I can get calls on this thing!”

Everyone groaned quietly while Besty simply frowned in confusion. “Isn’t that what it was meant to-”

“Hello? Sir Carrot? You’re here?” Besty was interrupted by the phone call, and the heroes all perked up as they heard Nautilus’s one-sided conversation.

“Oh! Yes, yes, of course, we’ll be there right away, just stay right where you are!” Nautilus hung up, then looked at the siblings. “Sir Carrot and Princess Ametrine are down at the lobby, let’s go!”

They had started to run down to the door when Cucumber skidded to a stop. “Wait, weren't we just about to-”

“Don’t worry about it kiddo,” Steve waved him onward. “I’ll hear the plan Dreamy’s got, you go see your friends.”

“Thanks, Steve! C’mon Cuco!” Almond yelled over her shoulder, and Cucumber ran after them.

As soon as the kids were out of earshot, Steve turned to face The Dream Oracle, his form slightly leaning back on the air as he floated casually.

“So, you going to tell me-”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU LOST THE DREAM SWORD?!” A sudden, very loud scream interrupted him and the two immortals, along with the ‘Disaster Master’, turned to face the roughly estimated location of the source of the sound.

“What was that about?” Besty wondered.

“Wouldn’t be too bothered with it, kiddo. Now, the plan?” Steve asked again.

The Oracle sighed, “Very well, listen closely.”

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

_ They stuck to each other like glue since their first meeting. The space was empty, so there was nothing that could really obscure they eyesight save for the distance, but they took no chances. _

_ The Other One, he noticed, wasn’t like him at all. At first glance, yes, they looked similar, but upon closer inspection, one could easily see the differences. _

_ His arms were large, but his legs were small. Meanwhile, The Other One’s legs were huge, with small arms. He had eyes, yellow ones, The Other One told him, but not a mouth. The Other was the complete opposite. How the Other could even tell his eyes were yellow without eyes of his own, he didn’t really understand. _

_ But the most obvious difference, at least, in his opinion, was that of their capes. _

_ They were both long and starry, soft looking and a cool colour, but that was it. His was worn like a cape, and they were ranging between purple, pink, and occasionally fading to black near his shoulders.  _

_ The Other’s was worn like a scarf wrapped around their neck. and it was light blue in colour.  _

_ What was most worrying was the intensity of their colours. His was always vibrant, shimmering, changing hues, while the Other One’s mostly stayed within the tone of light blue, and occasionally, it turned dull and grey-ish. _

_ He didn’t like it, it didn’t look like it was good. _

_ But before he could mention it (he had been working up the courage), there was a bright flash of light and the space vanished.  _

_ And they heard voices. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The heroes are in trouble. Serves you right for not taking care of a big and very important sword.  
> Kids these days.  
> 


	4. Chapter 3: You would not believe what I saw this one time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "...Also, did you hear about the Heroes? Kids, all of them, they might actually be better off Dominated."
> 
> In which we take a peek at what's going on in the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> Again, I'd like to point out that any feedback or constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated!

He never slept.

It was a simple concept. He was always aware of it. He didn’t need to sleep, so he never did sleep. He didn’t even know if he  _ could  _ sleep.

At least, not before.

The Nightmare Knight, Scourge of Dreamside, Fear in its Physical form, sighed in exasperation as for the last time, he desperately tried to coax himself to sleep. He leaned back on his beanbag, shifting to another position that was meant to be comfortable, and closed his eyes.

A few minutes past and The Nightmare Knight admitted defeat. As a manifestation of fear, it would make sense for sleep to be something he was incapable of.

Unfortunately, that meant he was stuck here till Peridot woke up.

The young witch had fallen asleep on his arm again after she insisted that he be caught up with the full plot of her favourite tv show,  _ Punisher Pumice _ . She  _ also  _ promptly fell asleep after the first five, fifteen-minute episodes. 

That wasn’t a bad thing, he reminded himself. Peridot had come into the kitchen while he was baking again. This time, he was not as shocked as he had been the first time she’d caught him in the act. 

He never thought he was even capable of feeling such panic as that he’d experienced when she caught him baking. It wasn’t something he wanted to experience regularly.

But it was late, they’d stayed up for more than an hour after. She needed sleep.

_ “You need rest,” he’d insisted. He turned to face him with a roguish smile. _

_ “And you don’t?” _

 

He was getting worried now. This was the third time in a week that she came into the kitchen in the middle of the night. He knew he could easily peek into her dreams, but that was an ability he would prefer not to abuse. Besides, it was better if she were the one who told him. 

However, if he were to ask her, she would simply, and coyly, say that she could stay up however long she wanted, and that was that. 

But he knew Fear. He knew Fear as well as he knew himself because that was what he was. He was Fear.

And what that child had been feeling, moments before she had flown into that kitchen, was Fear.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she’d said the first time they’d sat on that table, munching away at the shortbread cookies he’d baked.  _ Nightmares,  _ he knew but didn’t know how to point it out without the young girl shutting herself off.

_ “Won’t you tell me what’s wrong?” he’d asked. He turned away, His expression closing as He shut Himself off. _

_ “You wouldn’t understa-” _

He cut off the wretched thought and pushed it far below the vast expanse of his immortal mind. Now would’ve been the best time for sleep to make itself known to be possible for him. Anytime now would be best.

No? Shame. Guess he was simply stuck here till noon.

The Knight sighed. 

Sometimes, he thought, being an immortal was hard.

 

* * *

 

 

“Princess, may I enter?”

Princess Parfait looked up from the letter she was reading, smiling as she called, “Oui, of course!”

Placing the letter down at the table by her balcony, she greeted her unexpected companion with a cheery smile. “Sir Nightmare, it is a pleasure to see you again, ‘ow was your errand?” she asked, propping up her chin on the balcony railing.

Sir Nightmare, as she had taken to calling him, looked down from where he towered above the balcony, his eyes expressing that of a small smile. “It went smoothly enough, oddly the heroes seemed to have detoured off to god knows where.” He shook his head in disdain. “Sometimes I think they  _ want  _ to be dominated.”

“I am sure the ‘ave their reasons,” she assured him, though her mind was racing to the letter that she had read moments before. Shaking her head slightly, she tilted her head at him. “Alors, what of Quakemaster?”

“I barely managed to convince him more time was needed to ensure the success of his plan without raising suspicion.” Sir Nightmare suddenly looked very troubled. Parfait realised what that would have meant.

“You did not tell him.”

It wasn’t a question, but nonetheless, the Knight shook his head in response. “I-I couldn’t, I tried but I got sidetracked and the next thing I knew I’d threatened him with a fate worse than death should he fail. Slightly too late to tell him I  _ wanted _ him to fail, don’t you think so?” 

“Sir Nightmare, you cannot keep this up,” she reminded him. “500,000 years is long enough, it will only be worse should you continue.”

The Knight sighed and turned away slightly, bringing his hands up to wrap them around himself. “I know.”

Silence filled the room for a few minutes before the Parfait decided to change the subject. “You will never guess what I received this morning,”

As soon as Sir Nightmare looked up, The Princess launched into her explanation of the letter she got.

She had woken up to a seemingly ‘ordinary’ day when suddenly she noticed a small paper plane sitting on her windowsill. Picking it up and unfolding it revealed it to be a letter, to her. From Sir Carrot! It said that the Legendary Heroes were off preparing the contingency plan and that-

“Wait,” The Nightmare Knight interrupted. “‘contingency plan’? What does that mean?”

The Princess frowned as she recalled it, she hadn’t really thought about it at first. “I suppose it means that they couldn’t go through the original plan?”

“But why?” he questioned further. 

Parfait picked up her letter.

“Well- ah, here it is. ‘The young child Cucumber has informed the Crystal Princess and I that with the loss of the Dream Sword, it is the only way-’,” the princess stopped and reread the last sentence a few times, realization slowly dawning on her. “Oh non.”

“They did wHAT?!” 

Princess Parfait stifled a squeak of fear at The Knight’s sudden outburst, though he didn’t seem to notice. The ground shook as he dropped to his feet and began pacing the room, mumbling incomprehensibly to himself.

Parfait struggled to stay on her feet as she yelled for the Knight’s attention. “Sir Nightmare!  _ SIR NIGHTMARE _ !”

He whipped around, eyes widening as he realised what his pacing had done. “Ah, m-my apologies, Princess,” he said in an embarrassed tone as he floated off the ground and stopped in front of the balcony, looking on in a concernedly.

Huffing, the Princess pulled herself up and held her hands out in a calming way, “ _ Paix, Monsieur Nightmare, _ ” she assured him. “The heroes already ‘ave a contingency plan, they will be swift enough to get it ready so that they can defeat you.”

The Knight, though he relaxed slightly, still looked troubled.

The Princess sighed.

“Sir Nightmare, could you maybe lower your head down?”

He tilted his head. “Why?”

“Please just, can you?” she prompted, keeping her hands out.

After a few moments of hesitation, he lowered his head so that it was level with the balcony, his eyes flicking around uncomfortably.

Suddenly, the Princess grabbed hold of his head and pressed her forehead to it. 

The Knight blinked in confusion.

“ _ Ma  _ _ mère  _ used to do it to me whenever I was upset,” she told him, closing her eyes. “Now, I do it to you. You need not worry, Sir Nightmare, they will and they can achieve their goal.”

Sir Nightmare was blinking rapidly, for one fleeting moment, she thought he was going to cry. Instead, he simply sighed as the tension left his form. 

She thought she felt him push against her forehead once before he drew away.

“Thank you, Princess,” he murmured. It has always confused him, even after she explained, how easily she could accept him as a friend and an equal. Perhaps he didn’t understand it, but that didn’t mean she had to stop.

The Princess looked up at him, her eyes twinkling warmly as she smiled. “Anything for a  _ friend _ .”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Cordelia,” he greeted, turning his head to face the other alien in the castle.

She sauntered up to the edge of the balcony he was standing on, looking over the view of Cupcake Village, which surrounded the castle. The fur lining her dress swayed with the wind as she huffed. “So instead of conquering Dreamside, this is what you do?”

“Not entirely,” he replied. “Other nights I spend baking.”

“Your concoctions are amazing, which is why I can’t complain about that, but this?” She jerked out an arm towards the settlement. “What do you gain by looking at a bunch of bunny people going to sleep?”

“You make me sound like a creep,” he replied.

“You’re the Nightmare Knight, aren’t you supposed to be creepy?”

“Creepy in the sense of fear.  _ Not _ creepy in a disgusting way.”

“Fine!” She raised her hands in defeat. “But still, don’t you get bored at just staring at them? They aren’t exactly doing anything.”

The Knight chuckled. “I’m flattered that you worry for my nightly leisure, but you don’t need to. It’s not boring when you can see beyond the sleeping bunnypeople.”

Cordelia gave him a long look before she sighed. “Fine, I’ll bite, what do you see that I can’t?” 

The night sky was silent for a moment, the rustling of trees the only sound before he spoke. “I see their dreams, Cordelia.”

“That house with the brown tile, there is a young bunny girl dreaming of the day she would open her own bakery. A few houses down I see an exhausted parent of six slumped in an armchair, fondly remembering the time she had found all six in a box in an alley. Across the street is an old man, dreaming of the time his family will finally come to visit him, and he can happily depart from his life.”

Cordelia could only stare at him for a few moments, her eyes wide.

“This was what I did, the second cycle, the cycle I turned. I stared at the city, stared at their dreams, their wants, and their fears. I stared as I tried to make sense of it. To want something trivial, to be proud when you achieve something small. The simple things. The  _ happy  _ things.”

The Knight grabbed hold of his cape and he wrapped it around himself, revelling in the comfort it provided against the wind. “It helps when I think about this endless cycle of pain and suffering. Helps keep my mind off things.”

Cordelia sighed, resting her palms against the cool railing of the balcony. “You minded before. Would you still mind now? What  _ is _ your reason for keeping this up?”

Silence, again, before he softly said. “The Disaster Masters. My servants.”

“I have grown soft, Cordelia.” He glanced away, seemingly ashamed of himself. “I care too much. Stopping this cycle would mean the fear of the people. Without fear, my power would be lost, and without it, they will die.” 

She glanced at him, shock evident in her amber eyes. She had speculated, but she never thought that  _ this _ was the reason he kept this up.

But she supposed, on some level, she could relate.

“How is Peridot?”

Cordelia blinked at the sudden question, narrowing her eyes slightly as she wondered whether or not mind-reading was part of his abilities.

However, the memory of the lively young witch made her chuckle. “Asleep, finally. She wouldn’t stop talking about the time you brought her to the studio,” she eyed The Knight beside her for a few minutes before she murmured. “Thank you for that. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her eyes lit up like that before.”

“It wasn’t any trouble. Besides, you aren't the only one who benefits from that smile,” he chuckled softly.

“I-I would also like to thank you, for,” she faltered when he turned his head but swallowed and pushed on. “Winning this war would mean destroying what was left of Peridot’s home. I didn’t see that at first, but now,” she sighed. “That girl has been through too much for her age, and I could’ve made it worse. So, thank you, for- for bringing me to my senses.”

He stared at her in silence for a few minutes, before he murmured in turn. “I think I will remember you, Cordelia. You are not like the others at all.”

She snorted, “Yea, yea, enough with the sap will you?”

“Ah, shame, I was just getting started.”

“Big, scary, manifestation of fear and you got more sap to spare?”

“Spare me the pretence, I know you like it just as much as I do.”

“Yea, right.”

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

_ “Is that them?” _

_ “They look small, especially the skinny one. This was a waste of good magic.” _

_ “Look at the one beside him, though, look at his cape. That one has potential.” _

_ “That is true, very well. But what of the other one?” _

_ He blinked against the presence of light, hissing as it reached his sensitive eyes. _

_ “Ah, turn it down, will you?” He heard, and the light dimmed enough for him to open his eyes without feeling like there were ice picks driving into them. _

_ He looked around him, blinking at the odd new environment. He was surrounded by a group of creatures that looked, oddly, somewhat similar to him. There was also - hmm. Granted, there wasn’t exactly much to see.  _

_ His contempt was apparently evident in his eyes considering he soon heard a grunt and a mutter, “I see he has a decent sense of taste.” _

_ “Whe-” he stopped, getting used to the feeling of speaking before he tried again. “Where is he?” _

_ The Voices looked at each other before they parted slightly, and he could see The Other hunched in on himself. Mental alarms blaring, he struggled to get to his side, looking The Other over for- something. He didn’t really know. He supposed he would know it when he saw it. Thankfully, he didn’t see anything that looked to be alarming, and he sighed in relief. _

_ The Other was so small, so fragile he was couldn’t help but feel worried. Other had looked up when he arrived, now was clinging onto his cape like a desperate child. He held on to him, eyeing the Voices with distrust. Why did they separate them? Something could’ve happened and he would've been too far to stop it. _

_ “He cares for that one, I do not think we would be able to accomplish much without that one by his side,” they said. He narrowed his eyes. He did not like the way they called the Other ‘that one’, it seemed to degrade the Other, and the Other was perfect. _

_ The Voices discussed among themselves some more, and finally, they decided. The Other could stay - which was stupid, he thought. Of course, Other was staying - as long as the both of them did what they were told. Afterwards, the crowd dispersed slightly, leaving just them and another creature. _

_ They looked at them - and he noticed that this one looked somewhat similar to Other, with no eyes, and only a mouth-  and after a while, they smiled and said; _

_ “Welcome Home.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys are enjoying the peace.  
> Before it's taken away.
> 
> Paix means 'peace' in French. So here, Parfait is telling The Knight to calm down before he starts an earthquake.


	5. Chapter 4: Welcome to the Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Bathroom's down the hall, third door on the left, please don't interrupt the dark lord dad or there will be no cookies."
> 
> In which The Heroes throw away morals and sneak into the castle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> Again, any feedback and/or constructive criticism is and will be greatly appreciated!

Caketown Castle loomed up in the distance. Stars glimmered, decorating the night sky.

“There it is,” Steve breathed out. “The Centre of The Centre.”

The heroes had departed from Crystal Castle just yesterday after meeting up with Princess Ametrine and Sir Carrot. Their exchange wasn’t a pleasant one.

“You had, one, one SINGLE job and you couldn't even do it properly? I wasted my time turning back to sign YOUR Dream Sword, Quakemaster could’ve destroyed Basaltbury by now, because of you  _ IDIOTS  _ pulled me away from helping my people-” the rant went on.

To be fair, however, the princess had reason to be upset.  That didn’t, unfortunately, make the Crystal Kingdom somewhere they wanted to visit again. 

Even Steve did not want to go to the Crystal Kingdom, though, Cucumber had the feeling it was more than just the angry princess.

After they explained the contingency plan to Sir Carrot, he insisted on coming with them. Maybe it was because he wanted to see Parfait for the first time in a while. Or maybe it was simply because he had his fill on the Princess’s wrath in did not wish to go through it again, having already faced it once when he insisted on the Princess stopping by her mother’s kingdom for backup. 

After about five minutes or so, the Princess stormed out without even acknowledging the heroes, and Sir Carrot walked out looking thoroughly traumatized.

Afterwards, they took a boat - a proper boat, not a solar-powered one - and arrived at Saltine late last night. They boarded off, practically sleeping on their feet.

It was a mutual agreement - and a mutual relief - that they find somewhere to stay for the night. They rented two rooms; one for Cucumber and Sir Carrot, one for Nautilus and Almond. Steve and Besty just said that they were going to explore the docks for the night.

“Haven't been in the Doughnut Kingdom in AGES,” Steve had said, grinning as he looked around. “Besides, Besty and I don’t really sleep anyway.”

The other Heroes Of Legend then proceeded to sleep till noon. It had been a while since they were allowed such luxuries such as a sleep-in. Truly marvellous. 

Then they demolished the cafeteria.

Scrumptious.

Finally, the team, along with Steve and Besty, stood facing the Castle entrance a few hours after sunset with the intent of sneaking in.

“So, uh, are you going to tell us the plan?” Cucumber asked the Second Knight. Steve turned to him with a puzzled smile.

“Well, You, Almond and Nautie here,” Cucumber never understood why he was the only one among them who could call her that, “will go and distract The Knight while Sir Carrot, Besty and I will go get Parfait and meet you wherever he is. Then I’ll do the Oracle’s plan and we’re done. Like I said the first time around.” 

Cucumber had to repress a sigh.

“No, uh. What I meant was, are you going to tell us the Oracle’s plan?”

“Ah,” Steve nodded in comprehension. “No don’t think so.”

“Not ever?”

“Nope.”

“Can I change your mind?”

“Don’t bother.”

“Can we go?” Almond interrupted from her position besides Cucumber, turning her sword in her hands.

“Yes, I would wish to get a move on as well,” Carrot said, coming up to stand on Almond’s side. 

“Hwaaa, I can’t wait to see the castle!” Besty bobbed around in excitement to Steve’s left.

“Oh, hon, you’re going to have your mind blown,” Steve chuckled and they all looked at Cucumber. After a few minutes, he realised they were waiting for his input, seeing as he was the only actual hero here.

He just wanted to go to school.

“Into the castle we go,” he sighed.

\-------------------------------------------

 

They split up the moment they managed to sneak in, courtesy of Sir Carrot’s shockingly vast knowledge of the servants' hallways.

Not so shockingly vast, Almond thought as Carrot pointed out the seventh hiding place in a single hallway. The soon-to-be-knight mostly kept an eye on her nerd brother, Cuco. She was trying to figure out how he reacted to a plan that would ultimately lead to the complete and final death of the Big Bad Guy he so desperately tried to make peace with.

Maybe he’d try talking to him while Steve was occupied, she thought. She narrowed her eyes; he will definitely try to talk to him while Steve was occupied. He didn’t trust Steve, she knew, and frankly, she didn’t either.

But he provided them with an out when they had nothing to go on, she thought that it wouldn’t be fair if they didn’t even give the guy a chance. Nautilus definitely seemed to like him.

They wished each other good luck before they split up, Sir Carrot leading them over to the Princess’s chambers, while Cucumber, the only person among the three of them who had actually been in the castle, lead them on a search to find a big, scary, bad guy. Should be fairly easy.

They were wrong.

 

* * *

 

“My word! Is that Sir Tomato and Dame Lettuce? And also, the mailman?” Carrot whispered, slightly revolted by the idea that such a traitorous vermin had the privilege to be anywhere near the princess, and slightly confused as to why the mailman was hanging out with said traitorous vermin.

“Are they going to be a problem?” Steve asked, crouching down next to him. 

Sir Carrot had to repress a shudder. The Knights seem to give off waves of fear, he had the urge to go run away screaming for a moment, before he shook it off. “We can’t get to the princess with those two there.”

“Oh! Oh! Leave this to me,” Besty said, seemingly deaf to Steve’s protests of “Wait, Besty!”. He floated over to the two guards and the very terrified mailman.

“...then I said- huh, what?” Sir Tomato blinked incomprehensibly at the floating ‘disaster master’. Lettuce glared at Besty, looked slightly livid at him for interrupting Tomato’s tale.

Carrot will never understand what she saw in him.

“FEAR OF JUDGMENT GO!” Besty yelled, throwing surveys at the guards. The surveys fluttered to the ground by the guards' feet and the entire scene dropped to an awkward silence for a few minutes. 

Sir Carrot thought he saw Steve frown for a few moments but it was replaced with an extremely small and strained smile before he could be sure. The mailman, being a genius, immediately screamed, “OH nO!” and ran off to freedom.

The other two weren’t as smart. Sir Tomato growled and drew his sword. “Where do you think you’re going?”

“You can’t just like, barge into a very important conversation or whatever,” Lettuce sneered.

“U-uh…”Besty faltered, glancing between the two much taller bunnypeople as they raised their weapons-

-and disappeared in a puff of light blue smoke.

Sir Carrot blinked in surprise. He glanced beside him, expecting to find a similarly confused look to his own. Instead, he found that the Second Knight had his hand extended, palm glowing a soft white. 

Steve turned to him. “Don’t ever tell him I did that.”

Steve then proceeded to yell; “Well done hon! You must've scared them off!”

“Thanks, Stevie!”

Carrot, deciding not to risk the wrath of an immortal, bit back his tongue, got up, and opened the door.

* * *

 

Almond and the gang had been walking in circles for the past five minutes without any sign of the Nightmare Knight, anywhere. Any other time, she thought bitterly, the bad guys couldn’t wait to show up. But now, when they’re ready and prepared, of course, they would be a no-show.

Cowards.

She was just about to keen aloud when Cuco stopped in front of them, his ears twitching. She glanced at Nautilus, who was currently eyeing the end of the hallway with an odd amount of interest. Almond peeked over the Ripple Princess’s shoulder, then blinked.

Oh.

Peridot, in her pyjamas, rubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand. The light of her wand was the brightest and the only source of light in the hallway, except for a few torches.

She yawned, then called out.

“Graaaaaamps.”

The three heroes desperately looked for a hiding space on a regular wall, then proceeded to press themselves against it with a silent, mutual agreement that this was not going to work.

It didn’t work, seeing the way the young witch’s jaw drop from her face only confirmed that she had seen them. They eyed each other for a few minutes before Nautilus spoke, “Hello.”

Truly, she was a master at knowing the right thing to say at the right time.

Peridot narrowed her eyes at the heroes and scoffed, “Breaking and entering? Not very hero-like.”

“Didn’t you break in and-” Cuco started to say. 

Peridot interrupted him, “I heard you lost the Dream Sword.”

They stared at her in silence. All at once, the heroes blurted out multiple statements, some of them being; ‘Yeah, so what?’ from Almond and ‘How did you know?’ from Cuco.

Also, a barely muttered curse from Nautilus in a language Almond didn’t quite understand but understood the general meaning from her tone of voice.

Peridot scoffed and pushed her hair out of her eyes. “Yeah, well unless you didn’t get it, you need the Dream Sword to win. And as for how I knew,” she shrugged. “Gramps told me.”

“Gramps?” Nautilus echoed, understandably confused.

“The Nightmare Knight,” Peridot amended.

“How many nicknames does he have?” Cuco muttered.

“And are they all as awesome as these?” Almond grinned. Now, if Plan B didn’t work, she can always roast the Knight enough for him to back down. She’s quite well prepared now.

“If you’re looking for him, I think he’s at the throne room, which is in the exact opposite direction of where you guys are going.” She pointed with a thumb behind her.

Nautilus and Almond turned their heads to glare at Cuco. 

He chuckled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. “Whoops.”

Peridot groaned, “Come on, losers, can’t have you getting lost in my own home.” She turned and flew off.

After glancing at each other, they followed.

 

* * *

 

“Sir Carrot!” Princess Parfait cried out, throwing herself into his arms and clutching on to his armour in relief and disbelief.

He was here.

_ Finally _ .

“Hey, uh, not to ruin a really touching moment,” she heard. They both lifted their heads from the embrace to stare at Steve; Carrot in minor annoyance, Parfait in shock. 

“No, really,” A figure that looked oddly similar and different to Sir Nightmare said, raising his hands defensively. “I’d cry if I had eyes. But we really gotta go.”

“Hey!” an odd being bobbed up, waving his gloved hands at her. “I’m Thebestmaster or Besty for short, and this is Steve.”

“Hey.” Steve waved.

Parfait could only stare at ‘Steve’ for a few minutes before they were interrupted by a very poorly timed,

“Princess, may I enter?”

Everyone in the room tensed. 

Steve’s grin shrank in size, “Is that-?”

“Oh non, Sir Carrot, you must hide.” she pushed him away, running to the balcony.

“But, Parfait?” Sir Carrot stared at her, dumbstruck.

“Why don’t you just tell him he can’t come in?” Besty asked. 

Parfait hissed, “Because then he’d know something is wrong, now go!”

Carrot could only stare at for a few minutes before he came to his senses and ducked down behind the bed. He was vaguely aware of Besty desperately trying to get Steve to a hiding place. 

“Y-yes, of course!” they heard Parfait call. His heart leapt to his throat as he heard the telltale sound of a creaking door.

The first thing he felt was an overwhelming presence of power.

Carrot shuddered. How the other heroes had faced that a hundred times before he had no idea.

“Is something wrong?” Sir Carrot heard the Knight ask. He shifted, bringing his head close to the ground so that he could stare at the scene with wide eyes. The Knight was facing the princess, his head tilted slightly and, oddly, an expression of concern flitting across his eyes.

“Of course, why would you think otherwise?” Parfait asked, resting her hands on the railing.

“You took longer to answer and I thought I heard voices,” his voice grew hard, suddenly. “Is Sir Idiot bothering you again?”

For one moment, Carrot thought he was talking about him, and he tensed as he waited for the princess’s answer.

“Oh, Sir Tomato?” Parfait let out a very unnatural sounding chuckle. “No, he has not bothered me since the first time, thankfully.”

There was silence for a few moments before the Knight spoke again. “Something is wrong.”

“O-of course no-”

“Please, princess, do not lie to me. I can tell,” he paused for a few moments before he said in a surprisingly gentle way, “won’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

Carrot thought he heard the closet thump slightly.

Parfait stared at the Knight for a few moments before, with a jolt, he heard her whisper; “They’re here.”

The Knight stared at her for a few minutes before he bowed his head. “Of course.” He looked back up, his head tilting ever so slightly as he gave the princess a small smile, “Thank you, princess.”

Parfait could only nod shakily in return as the Knight twisted.

And he was gone.

 

* * *

 

 

 

“So, what made you start calling a manifestation of fear, uh, Grandpa?” Cuco asked.

“Well, he started baking cookies-”

“I’m sorry, I must've heard you wrong,” Almond interrupted, clearing out her ears before asking again, “did you say cookies?”

“Sugar cookies, but he insisted that they were shortbread,” Peridot reported and grinned as the memories resurfaced. “I remembered how  _ old _ he was afterwards and just started calling him Grandpa. Or, y’know, Gramps, for short.”

“You two seem very close,” Nautilus said. 

Almond had to admit that yes, they did seem close.

“Huh. Yeah, Gramps is great.” The young witch grinned at them for a minute. Almond couldn’t help but grin back. Then Peridot seemed to remember what they were here for since her grin shrank considerably.

“Guess you wouldn’t know,” Peridot muttered bitterly, glancing away.

The heroes awkwardly glanced at each other for a moment, none of them knowing just what to say.

Thankfully, they were spared the need to say anything when Peridot stopped in front of a large doorway and extended her arm in a gesture of grandeur. “Tadaa, the throne room.”

“It’s, uh,” Nautilus peeked inside, then brightened. “Oh, hey! There’s Steve, Besty, Sir Carrot and the Princess.”

They walked in, or in Peridot’s case, floated in. Nautilus ran forward to wrap Sir Carrot in a hug. 

“Princess,” Cucumber bowed. The Doughnut Kingdom Princess dipped her head in return.

“It is a pleasure to have finally met you, hero,” she said softly, though her eyes were darting around as if she were looking for something. Almond thought she saw Carrot give her a disapproving look.

“Who’s this?” Steve asked. Almond turned just in time to see The Second Knight give Peridot the ‘look’. She will never understand how someone with no eyes can give a clear impression of a stare.

Peridot scoffed, “Like I’ll tell you,”

“This is Peridot,” Almond supplied.

“Why do you-yeah, okay, you got a problem with that?”

Steve stared at her for a long time. Almond was getting a bit creeped out by it. Finally, Steve said, “You and him are close, huh.”

Despite sounding like it, Almond could tell it wasn’t actually a question. For some reason, she couldn’t help but tense, her palm resting at the hilt of her sword. She could tell Peridot was also getting uneasy, though she fearlessly tried to act cool.

“Yea, Gramps and I are close.”

“Gramps?” Carrot echoed.

“I see,” Steve nodded, then snorted. “No, I don’t because I don’t have eyes but that’s fine. Look, for the record, you seem like a very nice kid-”

“Steve, what are you doing?” Nautilus asked, while behind her Cuco and Parfait just stared, dumbfounded.

“-and this, isn’t in any way, personal.” He paused, giving her a comforting smile. “Got it?”

“Uh,” Peridot said as a matter of reply.

“Wonderful, so, like I said,” Steve continued. 

Almond paled as his hand glowed a dark crimson colour, as cracks started forming on the ground and spreading towards the young witch, who, if not for her wand, would’ve fallen down within them. 

“No hard feelings.” Steve’s grin remained. “Just need to get his attention.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you think you're missing something, it'll come back in the next chapter.
> 
>  
> 
> (don't worry, peridot lives till the end I'm not that cruel)


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which you know you're screwed when the author has no chapter title for you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> Once again, feedback and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated!

Peridot did not like this.

Not only was she rudely awakened by a nightmare, but she _also_ could not find the Knight for her usual treatment, which was cookies with _Punisher Pumice._  Add that up with finding the Dream Heroes in her hallways and leading them to the throne room, still no Nightmare Knight, now only to be fending for her life only because someone who looks like Gramps decided that she was worthy _bait_.

Really, she thought, she didn’t like this at all. At least the other heroes didn’t like it either. She could tell by the way that green boy and Almond had cried out in protest, while the orange knight was trying to get the princesses away.

If she weren't so busy trying not to die, she might actually appreciate it more.

Unfortunately, she quite liked not dying.

The young witch’s wand bobbed from one spot on the floor to another, feverently avoiding the cracks. If she were to hover above one too long, gravity would begin to pull her down. If that happened long enough, she would fall into that abyss that yawned beneath those cracks. She was desperately trying to avoid that at the moment.

Through the corner of her eye, Peridot managed to spot Almond and her brother desperately trying to stop Steve from whatever the hell he was doing. Unfortunately, they were being physically held back by Besty who, as he apologised, also kept insisting that his job had to be done. While Almond's Brother, Green Guy did attempt to shoot a few blasts of magic from his wand, they were being deflected by an odd force field that protected Steve as he focused on trying to kill her. Figured he’d do that, she thought as she avoided a couple more cracks, it was a classic loser move.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t paying enough attention, and the cracks managed to corner her. Besty managed to keep Almond and Green Guy successfully away and useless while Steve dropped the force field.

He floated across the cracks, stopping a few distances away from her. The guy didn’t even have the decency to look at her while he threatened her with possible death; he was too busy looking around for something.

No, wait. Someone.

Suddenly, she realised that this may be a bigger problem that she originally took it for.

He sighed in such a sad, dejected way she almost felt sorry for him.

“Looks like he’s a no show,” he shook his head, disappointed. “I really thought he would come.”

Honestly, so did she. Peridot had to tamp down feelings of disappointment of her own and instead lifted her head, refusing to back down. “Yea, too bad. Now, are you going to stop?”

Steve looked confused for a moment, then he tilted his head. “That would be the most logical thing to do.”

Peridot actually blinked in shock, she did not think it would be that easy.

“Unfortunately,” he continued, and her heart sank. “I waited 500,000 years in a rock for this moment.” Steve raised his hand, moving it as if he was catching hold to something, and a sword appeared in his hand.

She heard the heroes gasp in shock. She squinted at the weapon, gasping herself as the realization dawned on her. She didn’t recognise it at first, because it looked like he changed the colour of it, from white, yellow and orange to black and light blue, but now she did.

Steve was holding the Dream Sword.

And it was unsheathed.

Steve flipped it in his hand, noticed the stares, and grinned even wider than he currently was. “Oh, yea, sorry. I had to lie about it because I don’t think you’d like what I’d done with it. Honestly, I think it’s a nice colour change, but eh, who am I to judge, am I right?”

“It’s,” she heard, connecting the mixture of high-pitched and masculine to a very terrified Green Guy. “It’s unsheathed.”

“Yep, didn’t take too much of my power to convince it open. It did, however, make me quite tired after, stubborn thing,” he said, the same way one would talk about an energized pet instead of an immortal killing weapon.

“Now, as I said, I waited 500,00 years for this chance,” he continued, turning to face her, his grin apologetic. “If there’s even a small chance, I’m afraid I’m taking it, sorry.”

Peridot pushed herself against the wall, her heart thumping wildly in her chest, ears pushed back flat against her head in fear.

“But, hey, on the bright side,” he said, spreading his arms as the sword glowed a dark, crimson colour. “At least you wouldn’t know it if he didn’t come.”

Steve lifted the sword above his head, paused for a few moments, and brought it down. The action expelled a crescent of magic, and it was red, and it was heading right towards her and she couldn’t move she was going to die she was going to die she was going to get-

It hit.

Just not where it was supposed to.

Peridot blinked at the starry force field surrounding her, shielding her from the blow as the magic dissipated in the air.

Steve’s grin grew stretched as the air rippled in front of her, and the Nightmare Knight appeared.

 

* * *

 

He couldn’t believe it.

The moment he felt Peridot’s shield activate, he twisted himself to the area immediately, ready to stare down whoever dared to lay any physical harm and managed to get close enough so that her life was actually in danger.

But Steve?

He had not seen Steve in over 500,000 years since the last time. And why was he here when he could be-

Oh.

Oh, of course.

His eyes had widened when he realised who was in front of him. They narrowed again as the immortal in front of him simply grinned and stretched his arms in a welcoming gesture.

“Brother! Took ya long enough!”

The gasps he heard were a bit much, he thought, surely they didn’t think that the two of the three immortals currently in existence weren't related. 

He did feel a small, yet noticeable tug on his cape. The Knight, not daring to look away from Steve, simply lowered his head. 

Peridot whispered, “Brother?”

“It’s a long story, tell you later,” he replied.

He straightened up, blinking at the sight of the Dream Sword in The Immortal’s hand. But honestly, he wasn’t that surprised. Steve would do that, he thought, taking an important icon and turning it into his own. He would also need it for what to come.

But maybe he didn’t need to.

The Knight shrank so that he was only slightly taller than Steve, tilted his head and said, “I would not lie, but I am very relieved to see you.”

Steve scoffed, “You sure about that not lying part, bud?”

“I did not wish to harm you,” he said tightly, to which Steve only threw his head back to laugh.

“‘Did not wish to’? So you, throwing me to the abyss of nothingness wasn’t intentional, huh?”

“You fell,” he argued, his hands clenching and unclenching in agitation. “I thought you would float.”

“ _Lie,_ ” The venom in Steve’s voice startled him for a moment. The Knight blinked as Steve carried on, “you were perfectly aware of your strengths, Bro. You’re just saying that, but we both know it was so that you didn’t have to deal with _me_ all the time.”

“I was adjusting, and you being there would've been dangerous-”

“Why? Because I’m weak?” Steve’s grin was far from sane now.

The Knight didn’t say anything, because it would be a lie. But Steve _was_ weak. And fragile. He had spent his whole life up to that point trying to make sure Steve didn’t get hurt and he wasn’t damn well about to let _himself_ become a cause for it. But perhaps he had distanced himself a bit too much.

“What do you want, Steve?” he finally said as he fended off the cracks on the floor.

“Look,” Steve leaned on his sword, giving him that eyeless ‘look’, “you and I both know that our last fight was very poorly thought out on my end, so,” he lifted his sword as he spread his arms, slightly tilting back in the air. “I wanna rematch.”

Silence filled the air for one moment before, oddly, the Nightmare Knight snorted. Steve’s grin faltered slightly, he leaned forward as he tried to figure out what was so amusing. 

Finally, he gave up. “What?”

“You want a rematch,” Nightmare repeated, and with his eyes, the ‘look’ was only enhanced a few hundred times, “with me.” 

Steve’s grin twisted into something spiteful as he gestured in his direction. “You see what I mean?” Steve asked the Heroes. “He can’t take me seriously even when I’m holding the one thing that can hurt him.”

The Nightmare Knight snorted again. “Oh please, that thing never harmed me, and I doubt a different yielder would make a difference.”

“Arrogant as always, see what happened last time you were this coy?”

“You mean the one where I got a 5,000-year nap?”

“Why do you-” Steve took a couple of deep breaths and Nightmare felt a tingle of satisfaction. 

Not the only one who can play the game, huh?

“Well,” Steve said in a falsely pleasant tone. “If it’s so easy, why don’t you do it?”

“Maybe it’s because I got better things to do?” he suggested.

“What, like sabotage your own servants?”

Silence filled the room as The Knight blinked, desperately trying to piece together how he knew. Steve managed to reclaim his coy aura, grinning at him. 

Everyone else, save for Parfait, was gaping.

The Knight narrowed his eyes, finally releasing a low growl, “You really want this, huh?”

“Unless, of course,” Steve smirked. “You’re too _scared_ to do it.”

Well, he thought, that was a low blow. Now he couldn’t actually decline. An original Steve move.

So The Knight summoned his own weapon, a 50-inch long scythe, raised barriers for the bunnypeople, and twisted.

 

* * *

 

Cucumber was currently torn between ecstasy and dread.

Perhaps the ecstasy was uncalled for, but he just found out that his plan was going to work; the Nightmare Knight didn’t want to fight at all! 

Steve had also called him out on sabotaging the Disaster Masters, they probably wouldn't even be here if it weren’t for his help.

The dread was actually quite expected, honestly.

He could say this for the Knights, however; they knew how to have a battle.

The Nightmare Knight had twisted and reappeared behind him, Steve only just managing to parry the attack and then they both twisted, appearing in the air a couple of meters away, crossing blades in quick succession, twisted, appeared, crossed blades, twisted, repeat. A couple of pillars were sacrificed as the two Knights used whatever they could at their advantage. Occasionally Steve would send some attacks their way, apparently trying to distract The Knight long enough to get any kind of leverage, but the shields prevented any harm from falling any of them.

He could tell the Nightmare Knight was holding back, however. One time he paused for a few moments as he let Steve regain his momentum, another time his blow missed entirely. He figured the Knight was quite used to pretending that he was fighting, after doing it for about 500,000 years.

Cucumber’s gaze followed The Knight’s scythe as it twirled and swung. He supposed he could see its significant contribution in the ‘fear’ department, though he heard that scythes were impressively difficult to master. He couldn’t see the point of mastering such a difficult weapon just to scare people.

He took a step back as The Knight’s reappeared too close for comfort, accidentally bumping into Nautilus. He glanced back, relaxing slightly as Nautilus gave him an understanding smile. Cucumber glanced to the other inhabitants of the barrier; Sir Carrot, Almond and the Princess. They were all staring, gaping at the battle.

Cucumber turned, pausing as he saw a lone crack spreading towards them. However, it paused before it got too close to the shield. It looked like the shields were the only reason why they hadn’t fallen into the abyss, yet. However, this meant that they were stuck until the Knights finished. Fortunately, that seemed to be quite soon.

When they reappeared again, The Nightmare Knight swept Steve’s feet below him with the wooden part of his scythe and Steve fell onto the floor with a grunt. Attempting to get up only introduced, or perhaps reintroduced, him to the blade of the Scythe, and the Knight stared him down.

“Enough, brother,” he commanded. “This battle is conclusive.”

Steve gave him a masochistic grin. “Oh, come on! You were going easy on me, I could tell.”

“It is the only reason why this battle lasted so long. I gave you what you wanted, now yield.”

They glared at each other for a few moments, before finally, Steve dropped back on his elbows, sighing. “Oh, brother.”

“Did you really think it would be that easy?”

The Nightmare Knight only glared at him for a few moments, though even while he kept a cool demeanour, Cucumber could tell he didn’t actually get what Steve was getting it. Neither did he, honestly.

At least, until Peridot screamed.

His head whipped around and he saw that Thebestmaster had somehow gotten through the shield and was batting at Peridot’s head, who now was more annoyed than hurt. Unfortunately, it gave Steve exactly what he needed.

A distraction.

The Knight, who had turned his head when Peridot screamed, was too slow to react when Steve twisted and disappeared. Cucumber’s breath hitched as Steve appeared behind The Knight, who vainly attempted to turn fast enough to parry the blow.

But Steve was faster.

The grin was present the moment they’d met.

And it was still there as he brought the Dream Sword clean through The Nightmare Knight’s cape.

 

* * *

 

A shocked silence followed what happened, no one knew what to do. They had stared in shocked silence as the blade went through, they stared still as the Knight dropped to his knees, a guttural cry of pain exploding from him. The scythe had dropped from his shaking hands.

From a spectator's view, they would see the shields go down, but even though the cracks disappeared along with it, none of the heroes moved. 

Steve floated above the Knight, one hand holding the Dream Sword turned, the other gripping the end of the Knight’s severed cape. He was smirking in pride as he held his trophies, one tightened hand was all it took for the cape to twitch and shimmer, changing to light blue and merging with the rest of his scarf.

Steve sighed as the pure energy surged through him, his smirk twisting into a grin. He looked down at the Knight beneath him and landed softly, crouching down as he chuckled, “Okay, I get why you were such a prick all those years ago, this is truly something.”

He whistled as he ran a hand through the newly elongated scarf, practically giggling. “Though, you still are a prick. You telling me this was what I’ve been missing out on? You didn’t even share, Bro, how could you.”

The Knight didn’t - couldn’t - say anything. The only sign of movement was the subtle signs of shaking coming from his hunched form.

Steve seemed to notice, however, because he gave a sympathetic grin and got to his feet, summoning the sword back to his hand. “Tell you what? Because I’m in an amazingly awesome mood at the moment, I’ll kill you now and won’t let you suffer like I originally planned to.”

“Hold up a minute,” Steve paused. “Besty hon? C’mere a sec.”

Thebestmaster floated over, keeping his eyes away from the kneeling, doubled over figure below him. “Yea, Stevie?”

Steve put a hand on his shoulder, grinning. “You did so well, hon, I’m so proud of you.”

Besty smiled and bobbed around in glee.

“Gimme a sec, though, gotta deal with this first,” Steve jerked his head in indication to the ‘problem’ and turned to face it, the sword held up in his hand.

“Well, see ya never,” he smirked and brought the blade down.

Only for it to be jerked back when a lime-green star collided against it. 

Steve hissed in shock, floating back a few paces. He whipped around with a snarl only to find that Peridot, ears flat against her head but eyes narrowed in determination, summoned another attack.

 She flew across the cracks and landed, standing, facing Steve, making sure that the Knight, who had dropped down and was on his stomach, was kept safely behind her. 

Parfait seemed to snap out of her daze because she grabbed Carrot’s bow from out of his hands and leapt across the cracks to stand next to the young witch, the bow already nocked and drawn.

Steve snickered, glancing between the two, obviously not impressed with their show of stupid bravery.

At least, he wasn’t until Carrot joined Parfait’s side, and the two Doughnut siblings leapt across the cracks and landed in sync, Almond’s sword in hand, Cucumber’s wand alight. Even Nautilus came to stand by Cucumber’s side, brandishing her RIS because even if she couldn’t summon Liquus, she could still throw it at him. They all stood against him, eyes narrowed or widened in defiance.

Ensuring that the weakened Knight was kept safe.

Steve’s grin faltered as he looked at the heroes, but regained it as he slipped into the care-free demeanour he kept. 

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Kids these days, you guys haven’t the slightest clue what you’re doing.”

“Maybe not,” Parfait said as she drew the arrow back tighter. “But I know we will continue down this path for as long as it takes.”

Steve didn’t say anything. Instead, he simply shrugged, waved, twisted, and disappeared with Besty in tow.

The heroes sagged against each other for a moment, before Peridot struggled out of it and dropped to her knees next to the Knight, her eyes widening in panic. Parfait joined her, she grabbed the Knight’s hand, pressing her fingers to his wrist.

She didn’t know what she was expecting, but what she felt made her pull her hand back as if she were stung.

“What? What is it?” Peridot demanded, her fingers curling amongst themselves.

The princess looked at the witch, her eyes wide as she whispered;

“He has a heartbeat.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys still love me?  
> 


	7. Chapter 6: Don't worry I'm not dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "At least, I think not. Hopefully, I'm right, right?"
> 
> In which The Knight goes through some major reorientation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> Once more, any feedback and constructive criticism are greatly appreciated.

* * *

 

 

The moment he woke up, he could tell something was wrong.

For one, the fact that he  _ woke up _ was the most obvious indication. If the night with Peridot has taught him anything, it was that he could  _ not _ sleep. Therefore it was impossible for him to wake up from anything. 

Another was that he was in a grey bed, on his side. Silver and grey walls were surrounded him and were arranged with a surprisingly large amount of class despite its colour scheme. He also had no memory as to how he got there in the first place. Needless to say, he was very confused.

He didn’t like being confused, he preferred to have answers. Perhaps Peridot had them, he thought, rolling onto his back.

Then he felt it.

Or rather,  _ didn’t _ feel it. As the memories came back little by little, the not-feeling became ever more pronounced.

At least he wasn’t dead, he thought, slowly shifting himself to a sitting position, feeling sore. He supposed he had a couple of wounds here and there - that should not be there he should not be even hurt he didn’t get hurt he didn’t-.

The Nightmare Knight shook away his crowding thoughts, releasing a shaky sigh.

Looking down at his hands, he figured that on the ‘bright’ side, at least they looked familiar. In fact, he thought, looking around at his own form, he looked roughly the same, save for the part where he looked slightly duller in colour and his cape-

He sighed, dropping his hands on his lap as he looked around, taking in his surroundings with more attention. He was in a semi-circular room; windows and a floor-to-ceiling glass-paned door opened up to a balcony on his left, the door to the other parts of the castle to his right, with another set of doors in front of him that he guessed probably led to a closet or something. None of the things in there could possibly interest him.

Sir Night mare turned his head to the balcony.

Stars twinkled in the night sky.

 

* * *

 

 

 

 

The hero es stayed.

After they managed to make sure the Knight wasn’t going to die - some of them were still wrapping their minds around that - they gathered in the Princess’s bedroom, unwilling to stay in the throne room any longer. It was there did Parfait start to speak. 

She told them about everything the Knight had ever done for her, with Peridot occasionally adding bits of her own misadventures with the Knight. 

The young witch was understandably very shaken, hunching in on herself constantly, not even bothering to add in a snarky comment here or there. 

Soon after the meeting had progressed and she had said her fill, she floated off, no doubt going to check on the Knight’s well being.

After about fifteen minutes, Cordelia slammed open the door and demanded an explanation. The queen had been out for the night as she had frequently done, only to come back to see that a couple of pillars in the throne room were missing and that Peridot’s wand was propped alongside a door-frame to a seemingly unimportant room. 

Checking inside, however, revealed Peridot, asleep. But what was more jaw-dropping was that she was asleep next to  _ The Nightmare Knight _ . Who was  _ also  _ sleeping.

They had to get her to calm down before they could explain. When they did, Cordelia listened with pricked ears and wide eyes, reacting at all the appropriate moments and one slightly inappropriate moment; where she giggled during the retelling of the Knights snark exchange.

After some convincing and guilting, Cordelia agreed to the heroes staying at her castle so long as they went by the title ‘lax-security prisoners’ and not as ‘the Queen’s honourable guests’. She was very insistent on that point. 

Even the princess was granted permission to wander around the hallways of her own castle as she pleased, under the excuse that she had to tend to the Knight as he healed. 

After leaving the heroes to sort out their own trivial matters, she went to coax Peridot away from the Knight with the invitation that they would watch  _ Punisher Pumice _ together. Almond tagged along. The other heroes sorted their sleeping arrangements.

In the morning, they all gathered in the kitchen for a semi-awkward breakfast, broken only the heroes chatter amongst themselves, Carrot’s conversations to Parfait, and Peridot and Almond's exchanges. Cordelia said nothing except to add in a snarky comment or ask Peridot how she was holding up.

In truth, none of them were ‘holding up’ as well as they’d like. But it wasn’t like they would tell each other that.

 

* * *

 

Cordelia’s footsteps echoed through the hallway, their stride brief and seemingly unbothered. But the queen was a wreck, wringing her hands, glancing around, ears twitching before she finally stopped in front of the door to a very particular room. 

It had been 7 days, a full week, since Steve’s arrival. She had been avoiding this for 7 days, but she cannot throw it off any longer. It was time she saw the Knight, her friend, with her own eyes.

Taking a few deep breaths, she opened the door, mentally prepared to face a gravelly injured Nightmare Knight, stripped of his immortality, in his sick bed.

She was not prepared to see said Knight standing on the balcony, looking half-ready to fall over, yet only just managing to support his weight by pulling himself upright along the railing. She might’ve overreacted slightly because of that.

On the bright side, seeing as a high pitched scream is likely to alert someone of their presence, she no longer needed to worry about awkward, one-sided conversation starters.

The Nightmare Knight turned his head slightly in her direction, though he still faced the town. Cordelia stared at him in silence. It took her a few moments to gather her wits, but she started forward, crossing the room and, tentatively, approaching the Knight, stepping as gently as she could. Only then did he fully turn his head to face her, his eyes dull.

Cordelia wished it wasn’t her at this position right now, but she couldn’t just leave. 

She took a deep breath, extending a hand slowly to rest it on his shoulder. 

The Knight flinched slightly, though did not draw away after. Instead released a breath and hunched against the railing, his hands gripping it tightly enough she had no doubt that if he still had his immortality, it would’ve crushed.

“Cordelia,” he croaked out, looking relieved to see her.

“Hey,” she replied, trying for a reassuring smile. “Are you okay?”

“Better than I thought I would be,” he released a soft, slightly manic laugh that only succeeded in making her more worried than she was already. “I thought I’d be dead.”

“Yeah, well, if you did, Peridot would throw a fit.”

That got his attention. His eyes flicked over and he asked in a way that was both hesitant and worried, “How is she?”

“Fine, thanks to you. You scared her, along with the rest of us,” she replied, slowly beginning to lead him back into the room.

If he noticed he was moving, he didn’t give any sign of it, just blinking in confusion as he echoed, “The rest of you...?”

“Parfait and the Legendary Heroes,” she informed him, sitting him down on the bed, then dropping down beside him as he digested her last sentence. 

“The heroes were, worried?” he looked faintly disturbed by that information.

“Well, you did just save their lives. That Cucumber kid was very happy, finding out he was right. His sister was just glad you saved Peridot, that Ripple Kingdom princess said she wanted to meet you, and Sir Carrot said he needed to thank you for what you’ve done for Parfait.” She had a sudden thought. “Which reminds me, they’ll be here soon. I’m sure they know you’re awake by now.”

Either that or they were completely deaf.

Cordelia glanced at the Knight for a moment before deciding that he probably needs some clothing. That was standard mortal procedure he probably wasn’t familiar with.

“Come on,” she got up, then helped him to his feet. The Knight swayed slightly as he familiarized himself with the process of walking, then followed her to the closet. 

“We need to get you some clothes.”

 

* * *

 

They stopped eating as soon as they heard the scream.

That was understandable, seeing as it was very high-pitched and sudden, though Peridot was kinda tired of having her nights interrupted. It better not be another brother, she thought grumpily as she, Cucumber, Almond, Sir Carrot, Nautilus, and Princess Parfait armed themselves and started searching the palace.

 So maybe she was a little bit proud of herself for having learnt and memorized everybody’s names. 

The castle was big and known for having echoes, so it took them longer than she would’ve cared for to find the source. The fact that it came from Gramp’s room only added to her current mood.

They slammed open the door, expecting a bloody murder scene or maybe a hostage situation, but instead found Cordelia, waving at them as they entered.

“Hello sweetheart,” she greeted. “Did you stop for snacks?”

Peridot stared at her for a full minute. Then, dropping off her wand, she shrugged. “Well, you know, the castle is massive. It took us a while to find out where you were.”

“Is there a reason you screamed so very loudly?” Nautilus asked, wrapping her hands around her pyjama-clad shoulders.

“Yea, I was enjoying those cupcakes I found in the fridge,” Almond complained.

Parfait shot her a look. “I think you ‘ave had quite a lot already,” she chided.

“Back to the reason you screamed?” Sir Carrot asked.

“Well, I was startled, so I yelled in surprise.”

She didn’t elaborate and the conversation stopped for a few moments. Finally, Cucumber asked, “Are you going to tell us what startled you?”

“Oh, it was-”

The closet door opened and the Nightmare Knight walked out.

The fact that he looked terrible was the first thought in Peridot’s mind, though she couldn’t really pin down why. Maybe it was the dull look in his eyes, or the hunched shoulders, the missing spikes, the grey look. 

But after she was done, the fact that he was alive and he was walking hit her like a truck and she almost couldn’t breathe. He adjusted the black turtle-neck sweater he was wearing, clasped a cloak around his shoulders, and squinted at the newcomers.

They stared at each other for a few moments before, inexplicably, Peridot launched herself forward with a choked cry and wrapped her hands around his waist, sobbing softly. The Knight blinked a few times then, slowly, wrapped his hands around her shoulders, knelt down, and returned the hug in full, squeezing tight enough she thought her bones might break. 

But she didn’t care. She didn’t care because he was here and he was alive and fine and not dead. Tears ran down her face as she sobbed, the Knight’s soft consolations registering somewhere in her mind.

Their embrace seemed to last forever and seemed to be over too soon, but they pulled away eventually, Peridot rubbing at the tears on her face with an embarrassed chuckle. 

She froze as she saw his face.

He was crying.

Tears were running down his face, pooling at his eyes, but he didn’t seem to notice. Eventually, though, he tilted his head slightly, “What is it?”

“Y-you’re,” she faltered. “Crying.”

It must’ve made as little sense to her as it did to him because he looked shocked, then sceptical. The Knight raised a hand to his face, staring down at the liquid that glistened in his palms. 

With some sort of finality to it, he wiped them away, then started wiping hers away. “Don’t cry.”

“I wasn’t crying,” she replied, stubbornly. 

He gave her a look.

“Sir Nightmare,” Parfait’s voice drew their attention away, and as he looked, she smiled softly. “I am glad you are healthy, Sir Nightmare.”

He stared at her for a minute in silence, before softly, he said, “I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are.”

A shocked silence filled the room. But before anyone could have an outburst or start crying, The Knight continued, “Your face is, it’s blurry I can’t make out any details. Do all mortals see this way?”

“Uh,” Cucumber uh-ed, “we can usually make out the details of a face, unless-” 

“Wait!” Nautilus cried out, fishing something out of her pockets. She emerged with some sort of case which revealed to be carrying a pair of glasses. “I always bring an extra just in case.”

Nautilus jogged over, offering the pair to the Knight. “Try it, your power might be different from mine, so we might need to get you a visit to the optometrist to get your specific power for maximum comfort also your eyes would start to hurt if you keep wearing the wrong one for too long and-” she realised she was babbling and gave a nervous chuckle. “Sorry, just try them on.”

He stared at her silently for a few minutes, then slowly reached for the glasses and put them on, hooking the arms around his horns. He blinked as he saw the room with a clearer focus. 

“So this is some sort of disability among you mortals,” he mused aloud.

“When you say disability it makes me feel weak and insignificant so please stop, but yes.” Nautilus beamed.

The Knight bowed his head. “My apologies, I did not intend to make you uncomfortable.”

“O-oh, no, it’s fine, really!” She assured him as he got to his feet, helping Peridot up as well. 

She was trying to get her head wrapped that he was wearing clothes, needs glasses, is calmly talking to one of the heroes who originally planned to kill him, is fully mortal, and cried.

It might take a while.

Cordelia whistled appreciatively. “You couldn’t see anything and you chose that? You got good taste.”

“I’ve been told that,” he glanced at his clothing, taking them in for real this time. “I mostly relied on its texture.”

“Yea, but what’s with the cloak?” Almond asked, her eyebrows raised. “It’s indoors, and not even that cold.”

At this, the Knight turned away slightly, grabbing hold of the fabric wrapped around his shoulders. “I just like it.”

Peridot caught the defensiveness in his voice and wondered why he would be defensive about a cloak. Why was he wearing it anyways?

The cloak was a piece of hooded black cloth that had a clasp shaped like two crescent moons facing opposite each other. It was the type of thing someone would wear when they went out during a cold winter night, and while it could get pretty chilly in the castle, the cloak seemed a bit too much.

Cucumber cleared his throat; he seemed to understand why he wore it and elbowed Almond, who squawked in protest. 

“It’s really nice,” Cucumber offered.

An awkward silence filled the room, broken by Sir Carrot clearing his throat and sauntering up to the Knight. 

The Knight tensed when Carrot came close, and Peridot had to wonder on the logic of how an ex-manifestation of fear would be jittery in a room filled with Bunnypeople. 

_ Maybe _ , a voice murmured in her head,  _ the fact that he was recently fighting with said bunnypeople and now they surrounded him during his moment of weakness has something to do with it. _

“Well, I have something to say to you, Sir Nightmare,” Carrot declared. The Knight narrowed his eyes, looking as if he were trying hard not to step away.

“Thank you.”

Peridot figured she was not the only one who was startled, judging by the looks exchanged by both heroes and villains alike. 

The Knight could only stare blankly at Sir Carrot.

“‘Thank’?”

“You assisted the princess when she needed help,” Carrot’s eyes flicked over to the princess, then back again. “You also fought for an enemy of ours and suffered grievous wounds that might have been given to us. So, thank you.”

Sir Carrot extended an arm, and after staring at it for a few minutes, The Knight relaxed and grabbed hold. “Your welcome.”

As the two Knights shook hands, everyone in the room started to breathe a little easier.

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

_ His name was Tassos. _

_ After the others had left, he was the one who remained, smiled, and welcomed them. _

_ Afterwards, with a gesture that told them to follow, he turned, floating through the air along an invisible path. _

_ It took them a while, but they figured it out. Not releasing their hold on each other, they floated off the ground after him. _

_ Tasso was bigger than them, though they theorized that they could get as big as that if they wanted to.  _

_ Eventually. _

_ Finally, they reached an old, ruined building. Tasso looked pretty proud of it, but all they could muster in return was a worried, sheepish look. _

_ Luckily, he didn’t seem offended. Instead got the most mischievous smile on his face as he snapped his fingers, and the ruins disappeared. _

_ And standing in its place was a cabin. _

_ Needless to say, they were pretty surprised, but as they floated in it looked comfortable enough, and they decided that even if they were simply sitting in old ruins made to look like a livable place, they could manage. _

_ That was until Tasso sat them down with books as thick as their heads stacked in a pile that was only slightly shorter than them, told them to read, and left. _

_ He didn’t think he would ever be as grateful for their immortal processing in his immortal life.  _

_ They finally managed to finish the enormous pile, then looked around. With new knowledge in their heads, they understood with a new light. _

_ The room they were sitting in was meant to look like a ‘living room’ with a ‘fireplace’ burning in front. The things they were sitting on were called ‘sofas’ and had soft ‘pillows’. _

_ Really soft, he thought, burying his head in a few of them, the only thing that was softer was probably his brother's cape. _

_ ‘Brother’; noun, male sibling. _

_ Brother’s yellow eyes were still skimming around the bits and bobs around them, before he noticed his eyeless staring and turned, his eyes questioning. _

_ They were silent for a few minutes before he murmured, “Brother?” _

_ Brother tilted his head, his eyes curving upwards in a smile. “Yes?” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter was soft.  
> It's so soft.
> 
> Goes without saying what the next chapter will be, huh?


	8. Chapter 7: It's called a smoothie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Smoothies are like water but, thicker."  
> "Thick Water."  
> "Yes."
> 
> In which the author ruins one of their tags.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> Once more, though you'll probably skip it by now. But feedbacks and constructive criticisms are appreciated!

Cucumber had seen some odd things in his life.

He had seen the Dream Oracle in a bathrobe, been thrown from one island to another by a massive crab, been a bush in a musical play about its director’s beauty, seen his  _ sister _ compete for royalty titles, gone through multiple misconceived fears, and a lot of others he did not care to name.

The Nightmare Knight in an apron baking cookies was on an entirely new level of weird, however.

Cucumber cleared his throat. “This is awesome.”

“True that,” Almond added, devouring the cookie in her hands, simultaneously reaching for another one.

“Thank you, baking is a hobby of mine,” The Knight replied as he cleaned up his baking equipment.

“Whoa,” Peridot said as she stepped in, then grinned. “No way you baked cookies already, weren't you nearly dead just last night?”

“No, I woke up from being nearly dead last night, I was nearly dead last week,” The Knight replied, pushing the plate of cookies in her direction.

“Baking...helps, for me.”

“And for us,” Almond chimed in, though it was slightly muffled by her mouth being full.

“How do you know the exact amount of sugar to put in?” Cuco couldn’t help but ask.

“500,000 years of guesswork and recipe reading. I couldn’t exactly taste test my cookies.”

“Wait,” Peridot interjected. “You still haven’t eaten your own cookies?”

The Knight took off his apron, hanging it on the wall as he snorted softly in amusement. “I haven't eaten anything in my life, I didn't think it would be wise to start with cookies.”

“It is perfectly wise,” Peridot protested. “Besides, don’t you know skipping breakfast is bad for you?”

“She’s got a point,” Cucumber cut in, giving the Knight a sheepish grin as he turned to give him a look. “Sorry, she just does.”

Peridot snatched up the last cookie, much to Almond’s complaint, and brandished it in front of The Knight’s face, her expression an equal mixture of excitement and mischief.

“Come on, I know you’re tempted,” she coaxed, grinning as The Knight gave in with a sigh and took the cookie from her hands.

“I’m not sure if I can even eat this,” he muttered, turning it over in his hand.

“Well, usually when we eat, we put food in our mouths,” Almond suggested.

“Don’t forget chewing and swallowing,” Cucumber added in. “Or you’ll either choke or keep the food in your mouth forever.”

“Tasting is the most important bit of all,” Peridot concluded.

The Knight scoffed. “So all I have to do is just put it in my mouth? Did any ideas occur to you should I turn out to simply not have one, like I originally did?”

Cucumber and Peridot glanced at each other, unsure on how to respond. 

Almond simply scoffed. “Well if you don’t have a mouth, how are you supposed to eat? Us ‘mortals’ need food to survive.”

“You never know,” he shrugged. “Steve might purposely do that just to let me starve.”

This conversation took an unexpectedly dark turn, Cucumber thought. He shook his head, “Can you try to put it in the general area of where your mouth would be? You said you didn’t eat anything, so you’re probably hungry, maybe it’ll just magically appear,” at this moment everyone was staring at him and his voice shrank considerably, “or something.”

The Knight exhaled a breath. “It might work, I suppose.”

They watched in anticipation as he raised the cookie to his mouth and waited.

Nothing happened. 

Peridot, refusing to believe he was meant to simply starve, lunged forward and shoved the cookie closer to him. His eyes widened, but the cookie disappeared and he blinked, presumably chewing and tasting, then swallowed.

“That was unexpected. But not entirely unpleasant, I suppose,” he mused.

“That’s it? No, ‘wow my cookies are so amazing, I could die’ or ‘this is absolutely disgusting’?” Peridot demanded.

The Knight tilted his head, then turned to his cookbook. “It could use a couple of things here and there.”

Peridot groaned and Cucumber had to stifle a laugh. In his perspective, it was pretty obvious The Knight was messing with her if the slight curve of his eyes being were any indication.

If he was to go back in time by a few weeks, Cucumber mused, he probably wouldn’t believe that he’d be sitting here, in Caketown Castle, sitting in between his sister and that villain who constantly seem to be fighting with her, eating cookies that the Cosmic Terror of Dreamside just baked in a pink apron. 

Also that he barely managed to make sure said Cosmic Terror didn’t hear his and Almond’s chortles as he had to squint at the recipe book to read it.

Though he suspected the Knight had already heard, Peridot once told them he could hear her obscene mutters under her breath and banned her from sugar cookies for an hour.

The horrors she has gone through.

 

* * *

 

“Sir Carrot, what is wrong?”

He blinked at the princess’s worried gaze and sighed, “Nothing. It’s just a silly thing, you don’t need to worry.”

She frowned, reaching for his hands. Sir Carrot didn’t pull away, yet he didn’t return the squeeze either. 

They were standing on the princess’s balcony, the same place they stood as they watched the shooting stars when one fell onto the balcony and gifted them with their necklaces.

It’s only because of that was he able to call on the weapons and armour he needed to take on Rosemaster. Without it, their adventure would most likely already be over. He should be happy he had a physical reminder of their bond. Not everyone could’ve said the same.

But at the same time.

She had told The Knight they were there, and though now he could see that The Knight was friendly and helpful, she had still sold them out to the enemy. 

She was closer to The Knight to take his side and help him instead of denying their presence, which she should have done had she been closer to them instead. She trusted The Knight to come with better results, and though he did, Sir Carrot could not shake the feeling of hurt and betrayal, however much he wanted to.

Parfait cupped her hand on his cheek, bringing his face up to meet her eyes. He did so reluctantly, and the princess sighed. “ _ Mon amour,  _ please, won’t you speak with me? You have been distant ever since we reunited, what’s wrong?” she prodded gently.

Sir Carrot remained silent, before he softly said, “It’s- Do you remember the day The Knight lost his immortality?”

The Princess frowned. “ _ Oui, _ of course, how could I forget?”

“Well, do you remember the time The Knight came into your room, and he asked you if something was wrong? I-This is foolish, princess, please let it go.”

“Well,” Parfait huffed. “I will if you do. There is obviously something bothering you,  _ mon amour _ . So please.”

He stared into her eyes for a moment, the wind softly blowing her hair out of her worried, tense expression. 

He whispered, “You told him.”

The princess looked confused, and as she opened her mouth, most likely to ask him to elaborate, he blurted out,

“You told him we were there. An enemy at the moment, you sold us out. I-I know it’s good and that because of that and because of him, perhaps it’s the only reason why Dreamside still exists. But I-I can’t help but feel... _ betrayed _ .”

Parfait’s eyes widened and she drew her hand away from his face, holding it close to her heart. She looked shocked, alarmed, worried, guilty.

_ Guilty _ .

He pulled away, horror and suspicion gnawing at the edges of his expression. 

“Princess, when you told of yours and the Knight’s first meet, did it actually happen?”

The princess’s eyes widened, “O-of course, Sir Carrot! Why would I ever-,” she gasped in realization, taking a step back.

“I-,” she stopped to take in a breath. “I have been faithful to you,  _ mon amour _ .”

Carrot’s mind was sound, he could tell that the princess was never lying when she told him of the start of hers and the Knight's friendship. But hearts were known to be irrational at times. And his was telling him that right now, this was wrong.

If only he would know what it was talking about.

He stared at her for a few, tense moments, then nodded his head. “Okay,” he said, though he did not return to her side.

“Okay?” Parfait asked, bringing her arms close to herself.

“Yes, I-I told you it was a foolish thing,” he turned away, Parfait’s stutters barely registering in his mind. “If-if it’s okay with you, your highness, I think I need space.”

“Y-yes, of course, mon amour, would you like me to walk you back-?”

“No,” he interrupted, shooting Parfait a look. The princess was hunched in on herself, wrapping her hands around her shoulders while her expression showed one of denial, regret, and fear. 

“I mean I need  _ space _ .”

Tears pooled at the bottom of her eyes. The balcony was silent for a while, none of them saying anything as they stared at each other. Finally, the princess gave a small, shaky nod. 

Sir Carrot turned and walked away, closing the door with a sound that was too soft and yet too loud at the same time.

Only then did the princess let herself fully cry.

 

* * *

 

The Nightmare Knight vomited.

He found it to be a very unpleasant moment and hated it. It was disgusting, painful, humiliating, uncomfortable and he was hungry. Again. 

He knew eating that cookie was a bad idea. Far be it for him to refuse when it was offered to him with such enthusiasm.

Children can be so awful sometimes.

He staggered out of his room, supporting himself with an arm along the wall. A few moments before, he was struggling to understand the basics of sleep. Mere  _ seconds  _ after he nodded off he felt the unfightable urge to throw up. It was sick and bad. 

Very bad.

He wrapped his cloak around himself as he gathered enough balance and feeling to walk like a sane person. He knew some of the others didn’t really get why he wore it, in fact, the only person who seems to remotely understand would be the Legendary Hero, Cucumber. 

He  _ could  _ say that he wore it because it looked good, or maybe because he liked the texture or any of the untrue excuses floating in his head.

He wore it because he needed the feeling. The feeling of something on his back. He hated the emptiness he woke up with. He needed the weight.

_ Pathetic _ , his mind murmured,  _ you used to be undying, and now you need a piece of cloth to make you feel better about existing. _

He paused in his stride, snorting at himself. Apparently being mortal also brought with itself a healthy dose of self-loathing. 

_ Yea no _ , he shot back,  _ can’t work with me I already know my worth, thank you _ .

_ Do you? _

He didn’t like the fact that he couldn’t answer.

_ Okay bye bye _ , he told it, pushing it back. Thankfully the skill of ignoring things still stuck with him. 

The thought wasn't as comforting as he thought.

The Knight sighed. He needs food.

Pushing open the door to the kitchen made him feel better, maybe it was the bakery smell. The Knight wondered what kind of food he could keep down. Definitely not cookies. 

He flicked the light switch on.

He was expecting to see the kitchen just as he had left it. 

He definitely wasn’t expecting to see Sir Carrot standing in the dark. Neither was the part where he had tears in his eyes and a disturbed and haunted look.

The narrowing of eyes at him was uncalled for, honestly.

They stared at each other for a few moments, the tension between them thick enough to be cut with a knife. Despite seemingly having ‘worked it out’ the night he woke up, Sir Carrot never said a word to him any other time. He wasn’t about to force a conversation with someone who had every right to despise him.

However, he can’t very well eat with a Bunnyman glaring at him.

“Do you want food?” he asked, slightly satisfied with the way Carrot blinked in surprise.

“Sure,” Carrot said after a few moments hesitation. 

The Knight walked to the counter, bringing out his cookbook. He stared at it for a few minutes, then turned and gave it to Carrot. Sir Carrot was squinting at him with a ‘what do you want me to do with it?’ look.

“I haven't eaten anything besides a sugar cookie, I don’t know the concepts of supper,” he told him and pointed to the book. “So I want you to decide.”

Sir Carrot stared at him silently as he opened the book, lowering his eyes to skim through the choices. After a few minutes of silently flicking the pages, he said disapprovingly, “If you haven't eaten anything, these choices won’t do good for your stomach. I don’t even know how you managed to hold down that sugar cookie you ate.”

“I didn’t,” Nightmare told him, turning away. He could feel the Dreamsider Knight’s understanding gaze and had to tamp down the urge to destroy it. Maybe Parfait didn’t believe him, but he was telling the truth when he said he hated weakness. The feeling of helplessness made him so-

So  _ helpless _ .

He heard Sir Carrot place the book on the table and turned his head to meet the Dreamsider Knight’s gaze.

“You need a smoothie,” Sir Carrot said.

“I don’t like it,” Sir Nightmare told him.

“You haven't even tasted it.”

“I still don’t like it.”

“You don’t even know what it is.” 

Sir Nightmare glared at him silently before repeating, “I am not doing a smoothie.”

 

 

* * *

 

Sir Nightmare squinted at the smoothie in front of him. 

Besides him, Sir Carrot placed his hands on his hips, waiting for him to just drink it already.

The Knight didn’t, instead just silently crossed his arms and swapped his glaring from the smoothie to Sir Carrot. “This looks disgusting.”

“It’s a drink, how can a drink look disgusting?”

“It just does.”

He groaned softly, rubbing his face with his hands. “Okay. I never  thought I’d be here trying to coax a 500,000-year-old Knight to drink a banana smoothie but life gets you sometimes.”

He glared back at The Knight. “Drink the smoothie.”

The Knight narrowed his yellow eyes at him. “No.”

They glared at each other silently before Sir Nightmare extended an arm. Sir Carrot eyed his hand before realization struck him and he yelped, “Wait no don’t do that-!”

Sir Nightmare knocked the smoothie off the table and it landed on the floor with a thud, spilling its yellow contents all over. Sir Carrot looked at the fallen smoothie, then glared at The Knight. 

He only had a few seconds to realize he messed up as Sir Carrot launched himself at him, screaming. They landed on the floor, The Knight trying to shield his face from his blows. 

Sir Carrot didn’t actually know what he was doing, it was just a smoothie.

But he was so  _ angry _ .

Angry at Parfait for being closer to The Knight than to her lover, angry at The Knight for being here at all and knocking off his smoothie, angry at himself because he knew none of that was any of their faults yet unable to help himself from  _ being angry _ . 

The Knight extended an arm to get at whatever he could and ended up holding on to the empty smoothie glass. With a grunt, he swung it at the Dreamsider Knight with enough force to push him off. They scrambled to their feet, distancing themselves from each other. 

Sir Nightmare raised a hand to tenderly rest it on one of his horns, hissing softly as it made contact. Sir Carrot felt blood on his face and wiped it away furiously.

“I hate you,” he told The Knight.

Sir Nightmare blinked once before sneering, “Yeah, I can see that.”

“I hate you so much, you rained destruction upon Dreamside but you played nice once and everybody loves you. I was good my whole life and everybody leaves me. ‘You suck Carrot,  _ cowardly Carrot’ _ ,” he’s yelling now, somewhere in his mind he registers that The Knight has stopped glaring and was now watching at him with an odd expression, “What did you do to deserve things that I don’t? Why is it that Parfait loves  _ you more _ than she loves me?”

He pauses just long enough for him to realize what he said.

_ Well _ , Carrot’s mind murmured, _ you messed up _ .

Yes, he could see that.

They stared at each other. The Knight had an unreadable, but not cold expression. Carrot was on the verge of tears.

Carrot turned away, furiously blinking away the tears. He should’ve left the moment The Knight walked in, why was he even here in the first place?

“You spoke with Parfait?” he heard The Knight ask and turned to glance at him. It wasn’t spoken with a taunting tone or even a mocking one. In fact, The Knight seemed concerned, for both his sake and the Princess’s. That made him feel an additional mixture of ‘better’ and guilt that he attacked him.

“Guess you don’t have to worry about competition now,” he heard himself mutter and had to resist the urge to smack himself.

Fortunately, The Knight didn’t seem offended, just snorted in amusement. “I have none of those kinds of feelings for the princess. If I did I would never have forgiven myself.”

“Why?” he asked, “the princess is a very sweet, beautiful young woman.”

“That’s exactly my point,” The Knight countered. “She’s young. I, however, am nearing my 500,000-year existence. Perhaps even older.”

Carrot squinted at The Knight silently before forcing out, “So, you  _ don’t _ care for her?”

“I didn’t say that. I would be very upset should any harm befall her. But I would not seek any other types of relationships with her,” The Knight stared at him for a few moments. “Similar to the ones you have with each other.”

“Used to have, you mean,” he mumbled, flopping down beside the chairs near the counter on the floor. “She’ll probably never forgive me now, especially after what I said to her.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” The Knight said, pulling up a chair, “the bond you two share is quite something. I’ve seen a hundred heroes, yet none hold the same bond you two have. If you wish, I have no doubt that you two can easily construct something you both need.”

Sir Carrot stared at him for a few moments before dropping his gaze.

“Thank you,” he murmured.

They both sat in silence, both of them not knowing what to say.

“I’m hungry,” The Knight admitted at last.

He squinted at The Knight. “Who told you to knock over that smoothie, huh?”

“That smoothie was disgusting.”

“You didn’t even try it yet.”

“Your point?”

“Well, it’s either the smoothie or you'll vomit out air.”

“...I’ll take the smoothie.”

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

_ Tassos was fear. _

_ After he came back, he explained the concept of existence towards them, along with why they were there. _

_ When existence happened, when the first creatures started to walk The Space, they appeared with them. Powerful manifestations of emotions, feelings, rendered Immortal so long as their source of power lived on. _

_ And no one could get rid of fear. _

_ As Existence developed, some of them grew smaller in power, while some of them grew larger. But Fear lived on. Fear kept growing and growing until they got so powerful all the others feared Fear. That only made Fear stronger.  _

_ Eventually Fear got so strong, Fear could not recognise themselves. They agreed to the proposal that Fear should be divided, and thus, Fear was split into three. _

_ Tassos was the original embodiment of Fear. _

_ But now he wasn’t the only one. _

_ Brother was named Oneiros; Black Dream.  _

_ “Nightmares,” Tassos told them. “Black Dreams are Nightmares.” _

_ Brother liked his name. _

_ But for him, however, things didn’t go as smoothly. _

_ “I had difficulty choosing one for you,” he told him. “I thought of naming you Paratiro, for irony sakes.” _

_ Paratiro; To Observe. _

_ Fine name to call a creature with no eyes. _

_ “Parrot?” Brother asked and Tassos had to stifle a laugh. _

_ He was not amused. _

_ Parrot; a bird, often vividly coloured. _

_ “Finally I settled on Deimos,” Tassos finally managed to wheeze out after spending too long laughing about Paratiro. _

_ Deimos; Fear, terror. _

_ “I think I like Deimos better than Paratiro,” he grumbled. _

_ “I actually prefer Parrot, brother,” Brother snorted out, yelping as he received an elbow to the horns. _

_ “I have to agree with him,” Tassos hesitated before smirking. “Sorry Parrot.” _

_ He gave both of them an eyeless glare. “Shut up Tacos.” _

_ That silenced him.  _

_ Tassos stared at him in silent wonder. _

_ Brother had fallen down in a fit of laughter. _

_ And Deimos felt a ripple of satisfaction. _

_ Tacos; a dish consisting of folded or rolled tortilla. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, I'm guessing that canon romances tag is now invalid.  
> pretty sure carrot and parfait are together, canonically.  
> just felt like this would suit with what was going on.  
> Had loads of fun choosing names for the Brothers.  
> I mean, lots.  
> Names can be so cool.


	9. Chapter 8: Please don't blow up the entire Castle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "How in the world did half a banana get wedged between the fridge??"
> 
> In which Mega-dad gets an upgrade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> Once again, feedbacks and constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated.

“Okay, you two did what?”

Sir Nightmare fidgeted slightly before murmuring, “Sir Carrot and I forgot to put on the cover for the blender.”

Cordelia looked around her kitchen, eyes wide in disbelief. The walls were covered with some sort of yellow concoction. In fact, it seemed to be everywhere. The cabinets, chairs, tables and counters. There were even some on the ceiling, God knows how it got there. 

“Okay,” she breathed out, turning on the spot to fully apprehend the sheer amount of it, “that makes sense.”

She glanced back to give him a full look-over, snorting softly. The Knight narrowed his eyes.

“Don’t laugh, I never made a smoothie in my entire 500,000-year life. It was an honest mistake,” he muttered.

“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” she waved a hand in dismissal of the sentence. “What gets me is the fact that you’re completely covered in the thing.”

He was, in fact, completely covered in it. His newfound glasses, while they were clear at the lenses, were covered at the frames. She could barely discern his eyes beneath all that yellow. The Knight groaned in dejection, “It got to my cloak as well.”

Her eyes flicked to said cloak, while it did look like it had been caught in the massacre of the Smoothie, it was also seemingly scrubbed clean. Currently, it was draped one of the cleaned chairs out to dry.

“I think it’ll be fine,” she assured him.

“I really don’t like smoothies,” she heard The Knight mutter.

“Really? You’ve been at this the entire night, you know,” Sir Carrot said as he walked in, mops in one hand, clean rags in the other. He propped up the mops by the counter and threw the rags in The Knight’s direction.

Cordelia raised her eyebrows in surprise. She wasn’t expecting the Dreamsider Knight to be anywhere near the Cosmic Terror, despite their show of alliance last night. She definitely wasn’t expecting them to spend an entire night in each other’s company. 

Another thing she didn’t expect were the bandages wrapped around his head. Those weren’t there yesterday. Flicking her gaze back to The Knight she saw him gently dabbing the rags on one of his horns as if it hurt on contact. Like a bruise.

That was interesting. 

Also slightly worrying.

The Knight scoffed as started wiping away the traces of smoothie from his borrowed glasses. “An entire night’s worth of complaint is nothing compared to the sheer enormity of my dislike towards it.”

“Yeah, sure. Dramatise all you want, you were the one who suggested we make another serving.”

“I was still hungry. You were the one who said I couldn’t consume anything save for that disgusting concoction.”

“Well unless you’d like to vomit again you can’t consume anything besides the smoothie.”

“Wait, again?” Cordelia glanced between the two knights.

The Knight looked away. “I ate a cookie.”

“You ate a cookie,” Cordelia parroted, “and vomited.”

“Yes.”

_ Well _ , she thought, _ what were you expecting Sir Cosmic Terror to do? Elaborate? _

_ Yeah, right. _

“Woah,” she heard, flicking her eyes downwards to see The Legendary Hero in dark and light green pyjamas, his mouth open as he looked around.

“This is a mess,” Cucumber said.

Cordelia snorted, “Obviously. You have some interesting perception skills, Hero.”

He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment, looking at the ground. Carrot tensed from his mopping. 

_ Well, they can’t have expected them all to just get along now, can they?  _ Cordelia seethed mentally.  _ After all, it has only been a week since they started living in the same building.  _

“Cordelia,” The Knight chided softly. “Don’t be a bully.”

She stuttered in protest, “Me? A Bully? How utterly ridiculous.

“Right.”

“It’s okay,” The Cucumber Boy said, “we can’t expect everyone to just be friendly straight away. I guess she’s actually pretty smart not to do that.”

Cordelia widened her eyes, staring at the child in silence. His gaze was steady as he looked at her, though she could see the smallest hint of nervousness in them.

“Thanks..?” she responded.

They all fell silent for a few minutes before The Knight tensed, his eyes glued to the thing in The Hero’s hand. After some shifting, Cordelia eyed a small wand with a disproportionate star sitting in its middle. It had small beads at each of its points and a smaller star sitting in its middle. 

It looked like any other wand, though she had to admit it looked better well-kept and with higher quality. However, it shouldn’t have warranted such a reaction had it been a regular old wand.

Which means, she thought to herself, it isn’t a regular wand.

Cucumber seemed to possess a small amount of understanding, though he didn’t actually know what to do with The Knight staring at him with that intent gaze.

“Give it to me,” The Knight said. 

Cucumber frowned. “Uh…”

Cordelia jumped backwards as The Knight launched himself forward, yanking the wand out of his hand. 

“Hey!” The Hero cried out in surprise, but The Knight didn’t seem to notice. He instead just turned away, his eyes wide as he shifted the wand in his hand. 

“What are you doing?” Sir Carrot questioned him. The Knight simply raised a finger for silence. With a jolt, Cordelia realised he was shaking.

This is unexpected.

She moved so that she was standing next to him, observing silently as he shakily scrutinized every inch of it. Finally, he managed to pry open a small window on its side that she hadn’t noticed before, tilting the wand to spill out-

The Disaster Stones.

Cordelia frowned. “But- Didn’t you say-”

“They’re alive,” she heard the whisper, looking up to eye his expression. His gaze was fixated on the stones he held in his hands

“Uh,” Cucumber said, coming up to his other side, “shouldn’t they be?”

The Knight fixed him a look that Cordelia couldn’t see, though judging from the way the Hero widened his eyes she guessed that it wasn’t a look he was expecting.

“They-They aren't-I thought,” The Knight stuttered. 

Sir Carrot stepped forward, his hands raised in a calming gesture. “Okay. Sir Nightmare, do you think you need a seat?”

“...yes, perhaps I-,” The Knight sat down on the floor, the stones still in his hands.

Sir Carrot looked an equal amount of worry and surprise. That just dissolved into an expression of acceptance and he shrugged. “Okay then.”

The Cucumber Boy sat down cross-legged next to him, his hands on his knees. “Why were you so surprised?”

“That is also something I’d like to know, along with why it gave you the incentive to rudely yank Young Cucumber’s wand out of his hands.” Sir Carrot seated himself on The Knight’s other side. 

The Hero waved his hands. “It’s okay, Sir Carrot. Thanks, but I’m not bothered by it.”

Cordelia decided to lean against the table, crossing her arms in default. For a few moments, The Knight remained silent.

“The Disaster Masters were-are  _ extensions _ of my power. I made them to help me gain power. The more I gained, in turn, the more powerful they grew. It’s the reason I kept playing the role of the villain. If your people didn’t fear me, I would lose my power, and they would  _ die _ .”

Cordelia had heard all of this before, so she mostly kept an eye on the Heroes' reactions. While they both had their own share of surprised, Sir Carrot looked confused as he stared down at the stones. 

The Cucumber Boy had been staring at the stones through the majority of the explanation, understanding flashing through his eyes.

“That’s why you were surprised. They’re still here.”

The Knight closed his eyes and nodded.

“I-I’m not complaining. It’s-  _ hah- _ it’s a miracle they’re still here.” He paused, his eyes narrowing in confusion. “Where is Rosemaster?”

“Oh! I gave them to the roselings. They seem to like having her around so.” The Cucumber Boy rubbed the back of his neck. The Knight stared at him in silence for a few minutes. 

Eventually, it got so that The Hero started to look so uncomfortable, Cordelia had started to feel pity for the child.

“So,” she cleared her throat, gaining the attention of the Knights and a very grateful looking Hero, “any thoughts as to why they’re still here?”

The Knight looked back down at the stones, falling silent. They all quieted for a while, each thinking their own train of thought. Hers, in particular, lead her to a very interesting theory.

“Maybe,” she started, “it’s because your power still exists.”

Sir Carrot frowned in confusion. “But-”

“That makes sense,” The Hero said, his eyes wide. “I mean, Steve stole your cape, right?” 

The Knight twitched, bringing his limbs closer to himself. “Yes, but what are you-?”

“So the cape still exists, it’s just not with you, it’s with Steve. That’s why the Disaster Stones are still here. It’s because your  _ power _ is still supporting them, you just aren’t.” Cucumber looked proud of the explanation before he realized what the last statement sounded like. He stammered, “Uh, that sounded-”

“It’s alright. I mean, it’s right, isn’t it?” The Knight was gazing at the stones before he wrapped his hands around them, a breathless laugh escaping him.

“I’m not sure what’s so funny, Sir Nightmare,” Sir Carrot asked and the Knight waved a hand in dismissal.

“It’s just- I don’t have to be the Villain any more.” Cordelia’s ears twitched, her eyes going wide. She crouched down, looking at The Knight in the eyes.

“You’re free,” she whispered.

The Knight smiled. “I’m free.”

 

 

* * *

 

Parfait spent five minutes outside the door. She could hear the chatter and clang of eating utensils among the rest of the castle’s inhabitants. Sir Carrot would be inside.

_ I need space. _

She closed her eyes, taking a deep and calming breath. 

She could do this. All she had to do was act as if nothing had happened. Her and Sir Carrot were still friends. It’ll be fine.

The princess reached for the doorknob but paused when her hand started shaking. She shut her eyes, gathering her resolve. As soon as she was gained enough bravery, she lunged for the doorknob.

The door whipped open and she collided with it, grunting in pain.

The Ripple Kingdom princess stared at her. “Oh, no, no, I’m so sorry, are you hurt did I hurt you?”

Parfait waved the apologies away. “It’s- it’s alright. I’ll be fine, it wasn’t your fault.”

They stared at each other in silence for a few minutes, before Nautilus blinked.

“Oh! Excuse me.” She stepped aside, leaving the entryway open. Parfait looked in the room, wringing her hands in a skittish way.

“Uh.” She considered thought of simply shrugging off her hunger and going back to her room. Maybe she could say she hadn’t dressed well enough for the occasion, she thought, glancing down at her t-shirt and pants.

“Is something wrong?” Nautilus asked.

“No-ye-,” Parfait gingerly rubbed at her face. “Maybe?” she said at last.

The conversation dropped to an awkward silence as Parfait tried to avoid saying anything else. Finally, Nautilus just patted her on the arm.

“Well, whatever it is. You can do it!” she cheered.

At that moment, she had never been more grateful for in her entire life for the Princess’s undying optimism.

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

Nautilus gave her a thumbs up, then walked down the hallway. Parfait wondered idly where she was going. Then she shook her head. 

Now wasn’t the time.

Taking a few more breaths, she walked in to find everyone staring at her.

She stopped in front of the doorway, her hands wringing nervously at being confronted with so many eyes at once.

“Uh,” she uh-ed, not knowing what else to say.

Thankfully, Sir Nightmare seemed to catch on to her discomfort and he smiled, gesturing her to a chair. “Please, sit down. I think we still have a few pancakes left.”

“Thank you,” she seated herself on the chair and glanced around to see the eyes still staring at her, though they did have the decency to try and look away. Finally, she couldn’t stand it any longer and asked, “What?”

“It’s just that-uh,” Almond started, then stopped.

“We could hear you, from outside.” The young witch, Peridot, supplied. Parfait felt her face heat up and she dropped her gaze.

“Oh.”

The Knight sat down. “It doesn’t matter. Peridot, eat the pancakes.”

“But-”

“ _ Eat the pancakes _ .”

“Okay.”

Parfait stifled a laugh of her own amongst the other occupants of the table, then began to devour her own pancakes. There were, suffice to say, positively heavenly.  She was quite enjoying her decision to come to breakfast this morning.

“Your Highness, could you maybe pass me the syrup?”

She tensed, her eyes flicking towards Sir Carrot, who had his hand extended in her direction. Everything about his body language seemed cool and casual, unbothered despite the events of last night.

_ I need spac- _

Before she could stop herself, vivid images of her taking his hand and them being together again flashed in her head.

“Your Highness?” She blinked through the fog of fantasy.  _ Ah yes, she was supposed to do something. _

Parfait grabbed hold of the pitcher in front of her intending to calmly and properly pass it into his hands. However, the pitcher started shaking the closer it got to its destination. In panic, she ended up simply shoving it in his hands.

Sir Carrot widened his eyes, tilting his hand to make sure it didn’t spill all over the table. The movement was awkward and looked slightly painful. Everyone else watched on. Parfait felt embarrassment creep along the back of her neck. 

“I am-” she pushed her chair back. “I am not hungry.”

She blinked back tears as she left the room, the weight of their stares on her back.

Sir Carrot dropped his hand, sighing. “Was it too soon?”

“Obviously,” Cordelia muttered, grabbing the pitcher from his hand and helping herself to a ‘healthy’ dose of syrup.

“It’s alright,” Sir Nightmare spoke up. He pushed the glass of smoothie away from him. “I’ll go find her.”

 

 

* * *

 

After 500,000 years of constantly being summoned in the same place, you’d think he’d be able to make his way around with ease. To be fair, back then he could simply twist and appear wherever he wanted to. 

The Knight sighed after he checked the 13th room in which, like the others, held no sign of Parfait. He was getting quite sick of it, honestly. 

So far he had found bedrooms, pantries, empty rooms, spare rooms, toilets, doors to the outside, but no sign of Parfait anywhere.

He pushed open a seemingly regular looking door, then blinked as an unexpected sight greeted him. The room was larger inside than it appeared to be on the outside. 

It also appeared to be a training hall, with a - pitiful, in his opinion- assortment of weapons on its left side, and duelling spaces and dummies on its right. Interest pulled at him, making him walk inside to see more of the room.

“Oh, hello!” A sudden voice startled him and he whipped around.

The Ripple Kingdom princess waved her hands in a calming gesture, her mouth curled in an apologetic smile. “Sorry, that was my mistake.”

He stared at her in silence before looking away. He had not noticed her. He usually would have seen if there were other creatures within the area. Then again, he never had to wear glasses for the simple act of ‘seeing’. 

“It’s fine, no one got hurt,” he muttered. “Have you seen Parfait?”

“Oh, no. I’m afraid not.” The princess looked around as if Parfait was idly hanging about. As none of them said anything, she started wringing her hands in an act of nervousness. He could tell that it, surprisingly, had nothing to do with him in her company. He stared at her for a few minutes before softly, he sighed.

“Is something bothering you, princess?”

“Wha- no of course not what makes you think-”

“Please, don’t lie to me. You princesses are terrible at lying.” He gave her a look.

She looked as if she wanted to insist on her honesty some more, then she looked away. “My familiar hasn’t been out in a while. I’m worried for him.”

“Your familiar?” The Knight took a bit longer than he would have liked to recognise the term. A mental image of hermit crabs and sharks appearing out of nowhere flashed through his mind and he grimaced slightly. “Ah. Those.”

“You know of them?” The princess looked interested.

“Let’s just say you aren’t the first Ripple Princess to join the Hero’s quest.” The Knight tilted his head. “You said he won’t come out?”

Nautilus shook her head in a forlorn way. 

The Knight nodded solemnly, “I think I’ve seen this before.”

“You have?” 

“Mhm. One of the heroes had trouble summoning her familiar as well. If I remember correctly she asked a friend to give the- what do you call those things you keep them in?”

“You mean the RIS-es?”

“Those. Her friend gave the- thing- a blast of magic that shocked the familiar out.”

The princess frowned. “That sounds aggressive. Didn’t that harm them?”

He snorted. “Believe me, you don’t need to worry about that. Its attacks worked just fine.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want Liquus to hate me,” she mumbled the last part.

The Knight sighed. “I am sure. You do not have to go through with it if you don’t wish.” He made to turn away but was interrupted by the Princess.

“Wait, uh. Can you, maybe…”

He turned to her, careful to place a patient expression on his face that did not mirror his internal frustration. If he wanted to get this over with, starting a fight did not seem like a good choice.

His expression seemed to give her the boost she needed, however. “Can you help me?” she asked tentatively.

That was unexpected. 

The Knight blinked in surprise. “You want me, to help you,” he echoed slowly.

The princess nodded in confirmation, smiling. “We’re all on the same side now, aren’t we?”

 

* * *

“Hold on, it’s somewhere- Aha!” Nautilus emerged with the RIS clutched in her hand. From her peripheral vision, she saw The Knight give it a look filled with wariness and dislike. He’d probably never seen a Summoning Device before.

“Alright! So all we need is the jump start of magic!” She patiently waited. It took him a moment, but finally, he realised that she was waiting for him to do the magic. His reaction was honestly quite amusing.

“Me?” he squawked.

She frowned. “Well, I can’t do magic without my RIS. So that just leaves you.”

He gave her a look. “I don’t even know if I can do magic anymore.”

“Why?”

He only looked at her in silence. Still, she did not give away anything that could have told him if she was lying. That most likely meant that she was telling the truth. That was not such a comforting thought as the latter.

“Do I need to remind you of the events off last week?” he asked, his tone subconsciously cold.

“Oh! You mean the whole ‘Steve-cutting-your-cape-off-and-leaving-you-to-die’?”

He gave an involuntary shudder, hugging himself with his hands. “...yes.”

She blinked. “Well, okay. Maybe you can’t do magic without your cape. But I still think that it doesn't really matter. I mean, Cucumber doesn't have a massive cape and he still does magic just fine.”

“Tell me you are not seriously comparing  _ me _ with a 9-year-old’s-”

“He’s not a 9-year-old.”

“- magical capability? Me, the very same with the one who wanted and  _ did _ take over the entirety of Dreamside?” he continued despite her interruption. 

She was honestly starting to lose her patience.

Nautilus crossed her arms. “Can’t you just try, at least?”

He narrowed her eyes at her. “Why do I bother trying when I know I’ll fail?”

“Well,” she pointed out, “didn’t you do that with all the other Legendary Heroes for 500,000 years?”

“...touche. Fine.”

She beamed, “That’s the spirit!”

“I still need something to - ugh - channel my power. It has been literal ages since I had to do that.” He looked faintly disgusted with himself.

“Hm. Well, what about your scythe?” she suggested.

He widened his eyes. “It’s still here?”

“Sure! Just saw it over there,” she gestured to the assortment. Going through them, she pointed out a wicked-looking scythe propped along the rack for weapons, standing out amongst the other, food-themed weapons. Its blade seemed to glow softly, the shaft decorated with intricate purple markings she learned enough off to guess that they were magical.

The Knight stepped forward, reaching out hesitantly towards it. She didn’t see what was holding him back, but she didn’t want to seem rude, so she patiently waited for him to just grab it. He held it in his hands, hefting it cautiously.

“Can you use that?” she asked.

“We’ll see,” he replied and ran his fingers along the markings. The air shifted and she had to suppress a small and sudden shiver of fear. The Knight, however, looked downright delighted.

“What was-?”

“I’ve used it enough times that it recognises my magic signature,” he explained. “That, combined with the fact that I would occasionally store some of my powers here…” he trailed off, his eyes alight.

She was glad to see him happy, though it did make he the tiniest bit worried for herself. Nonetheless, she shook it away and asked, “So, does this mean you can do magic now?”

He remained silent for a few moments before gesturing to a dummy on the other side of the wall. As she turned her head to look at it, through the corner of her eye she saw him raise the scythe, it’s blade now glowing a soft red. He brought it down and expelled an arc of magic -similar to the one Steve nearly got to use on Peridot. 

Unlike Steve’s spell, however, there was no shield to protect its target, and the Ripple Kingdom Princess shielded her eyes from the miniature explosion on the other side.

“Yes,” The Knight smirked.

 

* * *

* * *

 

_ “Okay, you guys ready?” _

_ He glanced sideways to his brother, Deimos. He looked ready, he looked eager, in fact. _

_ “Yes, we are!” Deimos could barely contain his excitement. He even forgot to float, and he fell to the ground with a grunt. _

_ “Oh, brother,” he chided, dropping down next to him. “Calm down before you hurt yourself.” _

_ Deimos snorted, “Immortals can’t get hurt, remember?” _

_ “They can if they’re hurt by other immortals, which is the point of this entire thing in the first place,” Tassos growled. The two snapped to attention.  _

_ “We can’t stay here. This many Immortals in one place is, has and always will be a bad idea. Which is why we’re leaving. Now stop fooling around,” he commanded. _

_ They bowed their heads. “Yes, Tassos,” they chimed in unison. _

_ Satisfied, he turned his back to them to face the arc. Oneiros once more glanced to his brother, who looked slightly disgruntled at being forced into submission so easily. He rolled his eyes, Brother can be so stubborn sometimes. Like the time he wouldn’t speak to him at all after he stopped Brother from touching flame. In his defence, the books it said that flame was harmful.  _

_ Brother didn’t seem to like that, and that Tassos spoke of the few ways Immortals could be harmed only made Brother sure that he was just being a - as he is fond of saying - ‘prick’. _

_ A sudden shift in magic drew his attention to the arc. Tassos had summoned his weapon- a double-edged battle axe -and he felt Deimos perk up beside him. He stayed still, though he himself could barely contain his excitement.  _

_ If  _ **_he_ ** _ needed his weapon to focus his magic, it was surely a complicated spell. Those were always interesting to see- usually, the spells he used were simple enough that a wave of a hand was all it took to carry it off. Besides, he’d always admired the blade, it looked cool. _

_ Tassos angled the weapon towards the half-ruined structure and with a sudden blast, the arc became a door, glowing with the colours similar to that of Tassos’s cape. The Immortal turned to them, a smirk on his face. _

_ “Come on.” _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Somebody's gotta clean that up now.


	10. Chapter 9 : I have teeth and I'm not afraid to use them

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "What are you doing with your face?"  
> "I'm smiling."  
> "Stop it."
> 
> In which Peridot wants to go to school.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> As always, feedback and constructive criticism are always appreciated!

The Knight was elated.

He wasn’t really used to the feeling, but he at least recognises it enough to call it out. The morning so far was going unbelievably well. Not only did he now have - a fraction, but enough of - his power, he also found out that the events of last week had a silver lining to them.

The Disaster Masters would live.

He would get his peace.

Steve can have his power.

It was a win-win situation.

The weight of his scythe was comfortingly familiar, he absentmindedly traced the markings he had engraved as he watched the Ripple Princess -fruitlessly- try and convince her familiar out.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” she jumped slightly at his sudden question, “what happened to make it act like this?”

The princess- Nautilus- narrowed her eyes slightly. “ _ He _ started hiding in the RIS after the battle with Rosemaster. He, uh, his attacks didn’t really hurt her, so now I think he’s feeling useless.”

“Hm,” he mused. “Rosemaster, with all her abilities, still would have felt the shock. She simply said that throw you off-guard.”

“R-really?” She perked up. Turning to the RIS, her voice caught on a persuasive tone, “Liquus! Liquus, you would never guess what The Nightmare Knight just told me. It must be true because it’s coming from the guy himself! He said-”

The device flashed a bright white, interrupting the princess, who had dropped it in surprise. The Knight grunted, shielding his eyes from the glaring light. It hurt, slightly.

“No, Liquus-!” he heard as he lowered his hand, only to be met face-to-face with a very angry looking familiar. It was sudden enough to make him drop his scythe while it wrapped itself around his head, knocking his glasses off in the process. 

The Knight grabbed at it, vainly trying to pry it off before he suffocated. Somewhere, he was dimly aware of the Ripple Princess also tugging on her familiar, so at least he knew that she also wasn’t on board with this.

He was starting to get dizzy. 

That probably wasn’t good.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

 

* * *

 

 

Nautilus desperately tugged at Liquus, trying to stop him from murdering The Knight. She supposed she shouldn’t have started by saying that she was with  _ The Nightmare Knight  _ of all people. She knows better now.

As she tugged, she heard a distinct, “Ow!” that did not seem to come from The Knight himself. Liquus twitched with the sound, however, and he started unwinding himself, curling around her arms while The Knight staggered slightly. He took in deep breaths, looking disgusted.

Liquus sputtered at him in outrage. “You  **bit** me!”

She was so surprised she nearly dropped him.

The Knight glared at him, his hands rubbing at his face. “You were trying to suffocate me, what else could I have done?”

“Maybe not  **bite** me?”

“Liquus,” she found her voice, finally. “You’re talking.”

He turned to her, his head tilted. “Huh, guess I am. That’s cool!”

Nautilus recalled the ‘ow’ she had heard. Was that him?

Before she could ask, Liquus had turned back to the Knight, his back spines bristling.

“Stay away from her, prick,” Liquus growled.

The Knight dropped his hands and looked faintly stunned for a moment. He shook his head, “I’m not going to harm her.”

“Yeah, right!”

“Liquus,” she interjected. “It’s okay, he’s nice now.”

He turned to her with a look. “What.”

“While you were sulking,” The Knight sneered. “I saved your dear Princess’s life.”

Nautilus shot him a warning look, then turned to her familiar. “That’s basically what happened,” she confessed.

Liquus glanced between the two. He slithered off her arm, looked at her, looked at The Knight, then he turned away. “Okay then, bye.”

“W-wait, Liquus?” she squawked out. “Where are you-”

“I’m just getting in the way, princess. You’re not really even in danger. Besides, you got your hero friends to take care of you now,” he gave her an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

She stared at him, lost for words. Nautilus figured she had to say something before Liquus left forever, but she couldn’t think of the right wording for her thoughts.

Thankfully, The Knight did.

“Well, aren’t you a brat,” he mused.

Liquus whipped around. “Buh! I’m not a brat.”

“Actually, you kinda are,” Nautilus admitted.

“Buh!”

“I spent so long trying to help you Liquus.” She crouched down and shook her head. “Turns out you don’t need my help at all. What you need to do is to try. I mean, you tried to suffocate the Nightmare Knight-”

“Yes, you did.”

“-himself! You nearly even did!” Nautilus sighed. “Imagine all the things you could do if you simply tried, Liquus. That’s all you needed to do.”

Liquus gazed at her in silence and she wondered idly what was going through his head. He sighed, slumping forward, curling in on himself in shame. “You’re right, princess. It was cowardly of me to hide in the RIS while you were at risk.”

After a few heartbeats of silence, she extended her arm in his direction. After a few moments of hesitation, Liquus wound himself around it, looking up at her face.

Nautilus stroked his spines. “It’s okay, Liquus. We all get scared sometimes. Just- promise me you won’t do that again, please, I was so worried.”

“I won’t,” he assured her. She smiled at him, glad that he seemed to be making an effort.

Liquus glanced to the side and he narrowed his eyes. Following his gaze, Nautilus saw The Knight had his arms crossed, staring at their exchange with a mixture of boredom and amusement.

“Uh,” Nautilus uh-ed.

“What happened to you?” Liquus crudely asked.

He narrowed his eyes. “Ask your princess that, lizard.”

“I am not-!”

“Thank you for your help, Sir Nightmare. Your services will be appreciated,” she cut in hurriedly.

He gave her a look. “Are you dismissing me?”

“Yea, she is, now get!” Liquus hissed, arching his back.

The Knight sighed, bent down the pick his scythe and his glasses. “Well, guess that’s over with.”

“See you around,” he called as he walked out.

As soon as he left, Liquus turned to her. “What  **did** happen?”

 

* * *

 

 

“Princess.”

Parfait jumped. Glancing back, she saw that Sir NIghtmare was staring at her with an unreadable expression.

“Ah, greetings, Sir Nightmare,” she murmured in return, giving him a small, reassuring smile.

He did not seem fazed. His footsteps soft, he reached the railing in which she was perched on. Sir Nightmare rested his hands on the simplistic balcony carvings, remaining silent.

The sun shone through the clouds, giving light to the realm of Dreamside. From here, she could see her subjects going about their daily lives; ranging from caring for children to bickering about which ingredients have better quality. The wind blew through her hair, knocking a few strands into her eyes.

The Knight chuckled softly as she huffed the strands away. She gave him a sideways glance.

“ ‘ow are you feeling, my friend?” she asked, breaking the awkward silence.

“Better than I thought I’d be, the morning has been...eventful.” He admitted, drumming his fingers on the railing. 

Parfait swung her legs like a child, leaning back against her hands.

“How are  **you** feeling, if you don’t mind me asking.” She glanced down at him in surprise.

“I’m fine,” she replied cautiously. He gave her a look in reply.

“So you left the table simply because you ‘wanted’ to?”

Parfait looked away, wrapping her arms around her shoulders, keeping silent. Beside her, she heard Sir Nightmare release a soft sigh.

“Sir Carrot told me what had happened,” he confessed. She pressed her lips together, glancing away.

“You and ‘im seem to be, uh, getting along?” she tried

“Hm. Who would’ve known a fight would’ve been an effective bonding experience?”

“A fight?”

“Ah, yes. Suffice to say, I did not enjoy that smoothie he made me.”

Parfait chuckled. “Sir Nightmare, is there anything in the culinary universe that you enjoy?”

“Cut me some slack, your highness. I had never eaten anything before,” he countered, though there was no venom beneath the words.

“Yes, ‘ow unfortunate for you,” she smirked.

He huffed in amusement. It didn’t last long, all traces of light-heartedness evaporated as he tried again, “Tell me honestly, princess. Are you okay?”

She glanced away, considering to simply lie and say that yes, she was okay.

But she wasn’t.

His gaze was like a weight. It didn’t press too hard, yet it would not let you forget that it was there. She wondered how long did it take for him to develop such a look.

Finally, after minutes of silence, she sighed. “I-I admit, after Sir Carrot’s and I bro-” she swallowed uncomfortably. He rested a hand on her shoulders in a comforting gesture. She relaxed slightly, giving him a grateful, though small, smile. “It’s... ’arder, then I would thought it would be.”

As she fell silent, he spoke up. “It’s understandable. Both of you have been close for quite some time now. But you need to understand, princess-”

She glanced at him as he spoke.

“-that even if it may not seem like it, he still and always will care for you. People out there care about what you want and need, and they always will. Please, remember that.”

She gazed at him in silence, her vision watery as tears started forming in her eyes. She blinked, then laughed quietly as she wiped them away. 

“I am not sure what you find so amusing, Princess,” Sir Nightmare asked, troubled.

“It’s just- never would I ‘ave thought that you would be the one giving me relationship advice,” she chortled.

He scoffed softly, “Despite my lack of experience, princess, you have to admit I do give out adequate advice.”

“Oh,” she tittered. “I don’t deny it.”

Sir Nightmare, satisfied that she was now feeling better, propped his head up with his hand, his cloak billowing softly with the wind. Remaining silent, he gazed at the town, a soft smile in his eyes. Parfait watched him for a moment, her legs falling still as she contemplated his expression.

Just a week before, Sir Nightmare was forced to act as the villain of his own story and had to lie to the few people he cared for just to ensure their own survival. Just a week before, he got attacked by his own brother and was literally on the verge of death. Yet here he was, living, standing, breathing.

Content.

She smiled to herself. “Thank you for coming to get me, Sir Nightmare.”

He glanced at her, his eyes bright.

“We’re friends, aren’t we?”

 

* * *

 

 

Peridot walked in the kitchen to the sound and smell of Gramps making cookies. She smirked to herself as she sauntered to the high chairs, pulling herself up.

“I was wondering when you’d come,” he rumbled as he mixed the batter. “I half expected you to come in half an hour ago.”

“Aw, you miss me that badly?” She smirked. “Cordelia told me to watch the heroes all day today, make sure they don’t mess the castle up or anything.”

“That seems very unlike hero behaviour,” he mused. His eyes narrowed and he added, more to himself, “That wouldn’t be that much of a surprise, honestly.”

Peridot swung her legs like the child she was, propping her chin up with her knuckles. “So, what have you been doing all day?”

“Helping the princesses, baking cookies.”

“So you had nothing to do with that ‘boom’ we all heard a few hours ago?”

He glanced back at her in surprise. “It was that loud?”

“Yep.”

“Interesting.”

She snickered, then sobered and asked, “Seriously, though, what was that?”

He placed the bowl on the counter, turning around to face her completely. The sudden change from his behaviour made her slightly nervous, but she shrugged it off, keeping an unbothered expression on her face.

He had his arms extended and, she saw with her eyes wide, sparks and stars had begun to gather in the general area of his hands. With a soft ‘whoosh’ a very familiar scythe appeared in his hands.

“Woah…” she gawked at it and at him.

Gramps looked amused at her expression as he flipped it between his hands. “I always knew saving some of my abilities in here was a good idea,” he hummed.

“Can I see it? Please please please please  _ please please please  _ **_please_ ** -” She made continued grabbing notions in its direction. As he placed it on the surface, she shivered slightly, the fear radiating off it - though not as strong as it was before Steve - struck at her. 

“Be careful, I don’t want you to harm yourself,” he warned as he turned back to his baking. She ran her fingers along the shaft, gazing at the markings on them with wonder.

“What are these?” she asked.

He glanced back, the sparkle in his eyes the only indicator of his pride. “Those are activation spells I carved into them. It’s basically like a - a lock for a safe. You store your money - or in this case, abilities - and you and only you can access them. It basically recognises and memorises your magic signature to make sure it’s you.”

“Woah…” she said again, gazing down at the markings. She glanced up, “Can you teach me?”

He chuckled, dividing the batter into small baking trays. “I’m afraid not. My magic and your magic vary quite a lot. You cannot do the same spells I can.”

“Aw, come on, Gramps.”

“I’m serious.” He gave her a shrewd glance. “Maybe your ‘magic schools’ teach you how to do it in your ways.”

She gaped at him for a moment. “They do?!”

“It’s very likely.”

“But-but- this means I’m missing out on- on everything!” she sputtered.

“So you are,” he murmured, turning the dials on the oven.

“Gramps! This is serious!” she fumed.

He turned to face her, his eyes curled up in a smile. “Oh? Weren’t you the one who thought that schools were for ‘nerds’.”

She huffed and glanced away, crossing her arms. She heard him chuckle, “Don’t fret, Peridot. I’m sure for your age they would still you accept into school.”

Her eyes widened and she whipped to face him, a smile lighting up her face, “Really?!”

He nodded, smiling as the young witch released a whoop of triumph, punching the air.

“They’re going to accept me, though, right?” she asked, abruptly gaining a sober and worried expression. 

He summoned the scythe back to his hands. From it he summoned a small, white star, glancing between it and her. Unexpectedly, he sent it shooting towards her direction. On instinct, she called on her own magic, shooting in it the path of the spell. The now peridot-turned star dropped onto the surface with a soft clunk.

“You’ll be fine,” he assured her.

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

_ They appeared on a barren wasteland, nothing but dust and dirt spreading on for miles. _

_ Oneiros blinked the dust out of his eyes, looking around him with a mixture of disgust and disappointment. Beside him, he could feel brother looking around them as if he could see something that would make up for all this nothing. _

_ “Uh, Tacos? Just to be sure, this isn’t where we’ll be spending a couple of eternities in, right?” Brother asked. _

_ Facing them, Tassos twitched at the nickname. “Don’t call me that,” he said, irritated. “Nah, this isn’t where we’re staying. I just needed to show you something.” _

_ Oneiros looked around, his eyes wide as he tried to pinpoint what it was. “There’s -uh - nothing here,” he pointed out. _

_ “Duh,” Brother snorted. _

_ “That’s what I wanted to show you,” Tassos hummed vaguely. They glanced between them, then at him. He extended an arm, gesturing towards the nothing. _

_ “This used to be a bustling civilization. It had cultures, hierarchy, schools, healing buildings. Creatures would come and go with their trivial lives, caring for smaller versions of themselves who they planned to take over their places just so that their species would live on. Weird, huh? Unfortunately for them, however, that didn’t happen.” _

_ “Why?” he asked. _

_ “Well, they started growing in numbers. They got so many, in fact, that there weren’t enough food and resources for all of them, some of them starved, some of them died. Still, they didn’t stop. Still, they kept growing, kept living, kept consuming. They never bothered to focus their skills or their attention to caring for their own home. Soon, all their natural resources were completely depleted and there was nothing left. Not a single thing. All that was left was this,” he gestured again to the desert they were in. “One by one, bit by bit, they died. All because they no longer feared future outcomes.” _

_ He glanced back at them, his smile - though present - held no genuine warmth and was quite serious. “I wanted to show you this for you to see that fear - while it can be said a negative emotion - is evermore essential. They no longer feared for themselves, and this-” he no longer had to gesture to their surroundings for him to know what he was referencing to, “-is what became of them.” _

_ Oneiros glanced around at the dirt around them, his eyes narrowed. _

_ “There will be times where you might get tired of being fear. When you tire and wish to stop,” Tassos spoke on, “but you must remember,” _

_ “For the good of creation, you, fear, must keep going.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aw, look at that. Some fresh happiness.  
> [cue sound of knife sharpening in the background]
> 
> Anyway, can any of you guess what creatures the brothers are talking about at the end?  
> I'll give you a prize*!
> 
>  
> 
> (*prize doesn't exist, it's just me saying 'congratulations')


	11. Chapter 10: Excuse me sir, I was watching that

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Do you think it's safe having him around?"  
> "Relax, it's not like he's going to kill anyone."
> 
> In which people die and the author decided to put in a minor warning.  
> Beware the deaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> Once again, feedback and constructive criticism are always appreciated!

Peridot slammed open the door with a triumphant shout, a plate of cupcakes in hand. Behind her, she heard The Knight give out a long-suffering sigh. 

Smirking, she raced in, careful not to tilt the plate and launched herself on one of her beanbags.

“Pumice time!” she crowed.

The Knight walked in at a more reasonable pace. “I still don’t see why you still need me to accompany you. Didn’t the hero’s sister express her feelings towards the show already?”

She wrinkled her nose at him and got back up. He tensed slightly, though relaxed when all she did was walk towards the tv to turn it on. 

“Yeah,” she admitted. “But she hasn’t seen the last season yet. I’d have to watch the entire season with her all over again just to get her updated.”

“You seemed to have no problem with me,” he muttered. Peridot rolled her eyes. As soon as she managed to turn on the television, Punisher _ Pumice’s  _ theme song immediately began to play and she raced back to her seat. 

She reached down for a cupcake, nearly salivating, though paused as The Knight cleared his throat pointedly. 

She gave him a look. “What?”

“Oh, nothing. Just thought you would like to show the person who made them some  _ gratitude _ ?”

She made a face at him but relented. “Thanks, Gramps.”

He made a satisfied noise. “Mhm, I spent a good two hours trying to get your ‘specified’ tastes.”

She scoffed lightly, “s’not my fault you were so hesitant to put extra sugar.”

“Peridot, you wanted to put an  _ entire _ sugar packet in.”

“Shh-shhh, whatever it’s starting,” she hushed, lightly swatting his arm. The Knight rolled his eyes, dropping down onto his own beanbag next to hers. As the theme song began to reach its end, she lifted a cupcake to her mouth, her eyes wide in anticipation.

_ I’m sending my heart straight to-THUNK _

“Hey-!” she sputtered out, spitting out chunks of cupcakes in the process, ignoring a very disgusted looking Knight. The tv struggled for a moment, but soon it cleared enough for the both of them to see something neither of them was expecting.

On the screen, his sickeningly familiar grin just as wide as she remembered, was Steve.

 

* * *

 

The Knight had leapt to his feet, glaring at the tv screen as Steve struggled with technical difficulties on the other end.

“One two- is this thing on? You sure hon? Great.” Steve turned back to the camera in front of him, grinning. The Knight tensed as he caught sight of Steve’s newly enlarged scarf behind him.

“Hey hey, Dreamside! It’s been literal ages since I last saw y’all, how’s everyone been?” Steve purred, crossing his legs as he floated in the air. The Immortal on the other end kept a cool, relaxed demeanour, grinning as if nothing was wrong and he was just having a friendly, casual, normal talk.

Nothing was normal.

“No way,” he heard Peridot gasp out. Her voice hardened as she continued, “What’s Mr Smiles doing interrupting my show?!”

Steve chuckled cynically as if he could hear the young witch’s insult. “Now, I know you’re all probably upset that I interrupted whatever show you were all watching. But trust me, what I have to say is  _ pretty _ important.”

The Knight felt a chill run down his spine, only being more unsettled when he realised he what was feeling.

Fear. 

He was scared.

“I’m sure you all know who the big and scary Nightmare Knight is, right?” Steve’s voice caught on a stony undertone that wasn’t all that subtle. “Well, I know you’ll all be  _ glad  _ to hear that he won’t be terrorizing Dreamside anymore.”

All was quiet for a few minutes, the only thing they heard was the vibration as the cameraman - most likely Besty - shifted his grip. Abruptly, everything erupted into cheers. The camera shifted and The Knight saw Silver Studios’s staff leaping up in the air, hugging each other, giving themselves high fives.

The Knight was getting nostalgia. 

Not in a good way.

Steve chuckled as he took in the scene, cooing softly, “Aw, that’s cute.”

Steve glanced back to the camera, his smile mischievous as if he and the audiences back home were sharing a secret joke. He waved a hand, his palm glowing a scarlet red.

The Knight and The Witch flinched as the screen flashed white. Slowly, it faded. But what they saw made their blood run cold.

They were all dead.

Corpses piled upon corpses, blood flowing and staining the pristine floor. The sight was made even more gruesome with the background sound of Steve’s laughter.

The Knight could spot a few familiar faces from when he had visited the Studio not long ago. Their lively expressions could not be more different than the glass-eyed stares they had now.

They were all dead.

Except for one.

A hooded figure crouched shaking amongst the bodies. Steve floated off the ground, landing in front of the figure. The camera moved forward along with him, albeit a bit shakily.

Steve tilted his head, his hands folded behind his back as he glanced down into the hood. Abruptly, he jerked his head back, his smile flashing to a frown of horror.

“Okay,” Steve said, grimacing, “you can live, you photogenic beast. Go run your little rabbit run and spread the news.”

He glanced back at the camera, smirking. “I’m going to end the world.”

The tv shut itself off.

 

* * *

 

Peridot gaped at the tv in silence. Shakily, she wrapped her hands around her shoulders, the horrid image of the corpses flashing through her mind. She shut her eyes against the images, clenching her fingers.

A soft hand rested on her shoulders, making her jump slightly. Peridot had to glance up to look at Gramp’s face and he was staring at her in concern, a silent question in his eyes.

She swallowed, forcing a smile on her face. “I’m fine.”

He stared at her, clearly not believing her lies. Nonetheless, he didn’t push, instead just gesturing for her to get up.

She slid off her beanbag, desperately trying to stop her knees from buckling. Shaking the images away, she looked up at The Knight’s face. His eyes were flicking around the room. 

To any other person, they would’ve thought that he was suspicious of his surroundings. However, she had seen enough of it to know that he did that whenever he was deep in thought, or whenever his mind was racing.

She couldn’t blame him.

“Where are we going?” she asked him. He glanced down at her, his eyes slightly wide as if he had forgotten she was there. They returned to their original, narrowed stare as he looked away, a sober atmosphere taking over the entire room.

“To the heroes,” he rumbled.

“We need to inform them they have a new enemy to tackle.”

 

* * *

 

 

“Where do we go now?”

Cucumber blinked as he glanced towards his sister. She was leaning on his shoulder, her eyes half-lidded with sleep. 

The castle revealed to have an unnecessary amount of living rooms; this was living room number five if he was not mistaken. However, this was so far the only living room with a fireplace and, since it was a chilly night, was the living they decided to stay in.

He drummed his fingers on the couch, musing softly, “Well, I guess we go home.”

She wrinkled her nose. “That sucks, I don’t want to go home.”

“Well, you get to catch up on all the Pumice episodes,” he suggested.

Almond straightened up, crossing her arms as she glared at the fireplace. “I can’t believe all the dorks before us managed to beat the Nightmare Knight and we didn’t,” she grumbled.

Cucumber stifled a laugh. “To be fair, they didn’t actually beat him. He just kept giving up in secrecy.”

She gave him an irritated batt on the head. “Shut up, nerd.”

He snorted softly. “Alright, but isn’t it better like this though? I mean, we said we’d ‘defeat’ The Knight for good. I don’t think he’s ever going terrorize Dreamside again.”

Almond merely glanced to the side, sulking. He sighed, nudging her with his shoulder to grab her attention. The moment she gave him an irritated glance, he returned it with a reassuring smile.

“You’re still a hero, Almond. I mean, you did defeat all the other Disaster Masters. I’m sure  _ they  _ were still trying to fight for evil.”

Almond pouted for a few minutes, then she smirked. “Yeah, guess I did defeat Splashmaster.”

Cucumber smiled and gave her an affectionate noogie. “That’s the spirit.”

Almond snickered and gave him a noogie in return. “So it’s after the quest you bother putting up a fight, huh?”

He blinked in surprise, then stretched his mouth in a grin. Almond paled slightly as Cucumber lunged across the couch. 

“Wh-WAIT, NO PLEASE-!” she pleaded, evaporating into laughs as her brother tickled her without mercy. He smiled to himself, hitting her at exactly the right places. 

Almond wheezed, gulping down huge breaths of air when she finally managed to kick him off.  

Cucumber snickered softly as his sister wheezed, giving her a sly smirk when she glanced back at him with mock fury.

Just as she was about to give him a taste of his own medicine, the door slammed open and she jumped. Cucumber glanced to the door, his eyes wide as he saw The Knight facing them, a sombre expression in his eyes. 

Almond got to her feet, eyeing him with wariness. The Knight’s gaze flicked to her show of independence and his eyes gained a small glint of amusement.

Cucumber sighed and got to his feet as well, coming over to stand next to his sister. “Hey,” he greeted awkwardly, giving The Knight a small wave. 

The Knight glanced back at him, a soft smile curling the tips of his eyes.

“Is there something you needed?” Almond demanded and all traces of light-heartedness disappeared from The Knight’s expression.

“He said he needed to talk to all of us,” Nautilus chimed in, coming up from behind Cosmic Terror. Shortly after, Sir Carrot walked in as well, glancing around the room as if he’d never seen it before. 

They all came over to stand next to the siblings and Cucumber had a vague vision of them all standing like this as they faced The Knight, armed and in battle. 

Shaking the thoughts away, Cucumber spread his arms. “Well? We’re all here.”

The Knight blinked and for a moment Cucumber wondered if he just had a similar image in his mind. All idle thought flew out of his head when The Knight murmured, “Steve’s back.”

A shocked and stilled silence filled the room, broken only when Almond blurted out a “What?”

The Knight fixed her with a firm gaze. “Exactly what I said. It appears he has taken up the mantle of ‘Cosmic Terror’ for me,” he muttered bitterly.

“Oh...that’s not good,” Nautilus murmured beside him.

“Why?” Sir Carrot asked, a small note of panic in his voice. “What’s his agenda? Why continue terrorizing Dreamside?”

The Knight glanced away and Cucumber thought he looked the tiniest bit guilty. 

“He was never as powerful as we- as I was,” he replied softly, “this is him giving it a try.”

“By conquering Dreamside?” Cucumber asked, forlorn.

Yellow eyes flicked back at him. “No. My brother has a- different agenda on his mind.”

“Yeah? What’s that?” Almond crossed her arms.

“He aims to end your world.”

Cucumber gaped at him. 

The Knight showed no sign of joking around.

He looked dead-serious.

“Y-you’re joking,” Carrot choked out. 

The Knight flicked his gaze over to the Dreamsider Knight, the sorrow in his eyes a reply on its own.

Nautilus squatted down, her eyes wide behind her rounded glasses.

“Oh…” Almond breathed out, “okay.”

Cucumber rubbed his eyes, hoping that if he rubbed hard enough, he’d wake up from this terrible nightmare and go back to the night before the quest ever even started.

He felt Nautilus beside him take a deep, shaky breath. He glanced through the corner of his eye and saw that the Ripple Princess was getting to her feet. The expression on her face was horror, yet there was a glint of steely determination within the blue eyes she had.

“Well, guess the adventure isn’t over yet!” She clenched her fist determinedly, though her voice slightly quivered. After gazing at her silently for a few minutes, The Hero steeled his own nerves.

“Yeah, guess so.” He forced a smile on his face. 

Besides Nautilus, Sir Carrot groaned softly, “Can we at least set off tomorrow?”

The Knight, gazing at them with an unreadable expression, gave a small nod. “Okay.”

They sagged against each other in relief. 

Cucumber mentally started categorizing all the possible places Steve could be. Perhaps The Knight would know, he thought, glancing back towards the previous Cosmic Terror. 

He had already turned away, however, yellow eyes behind borrowed glasses flicking from one item to another as he walked away.

 

* * *

 

He paced the training room, occasionally summoning his scythe, then banishing it back to the void just to let out some of his pent up energy. 

When he was an immortal, every agitation could either be let out by setting a few towns on fire or, after he lost the stomach to evil, set out to ensure that his masters did not find the truth. Or maybe he would have just teleported from one area to another under the guise that he was ‘making sure everything was going to plan’. 

Things were definitely not going to plan now.

The heroes’ forlorn and saddened expression flashed once again in his mind and he grabbed at his head, hissing in pain as he accidentally brushed his wounded horn. 

They were so young.

They were just children, forced to play the will of the gods. He had a hard time believing it the first time Protector sent a  _ child  _ against him. After he was ‘humbled’, he had simply assumed that the Bunnypeople of Dreamside could simply put up a fight. 

But now, presented amongst them, he could see their sorrow. Their story was about to end. They were so close to freedom, only for that freedom to be snatched away at the last second.

He stopped in his pacing. 

He knew exactly how that felt.

A soft sigh escaped him as he flopped down on one of the benches, his fingers pulling on the hem of his cloak while his mind raced elsewhere.

He had gone straight to them after ensuring Peridot would be okay. The young witch took the deaths of her idol hard, he knew, despite the witch’s constant assurances on her well being. He had dropped her off with the Princess, who was more than willing to watch over the young witch. The last time he had checked, the two were busy ransacking the kitchen for snacks.

He went straight to the  _ children  _ to settle the problem after making sure that his own, smaller threads were tied.

The Knight narrowed his eyes, pushed his glasses back up on his face, and got up. 

It was enough hiding behind others.

If Steve wanted to do this to get back at him, he would get him.

The Nightmare Knight summoned his scythe.

He would get him in all his mortal glory.

 

* * *

* * *

 

_ A smirk and a pair of narrowed eyes glinted in the shadows.  _

_ Oneiros glanced to his brother, who was crouched down in the shadows of the grey alley they were in. Tassos had sent them on a scouting mission to the edges of the world they had settled in. This world was vicious, teaching it's young early that they had lots of things to fear. _

_ It was perfect for practice. _

_ They were here to ensure that this town still knew the meaning of fear. The ‘government’ had begun taking precautions for its citizens' welfare. People no longer walked around with a knife hidden beneath the folds of their tunic. Strangers were no longer scrutinized with the utmost suspicion. _

_ “It’s not much,” Tassos had assured them, “a small fire, linked back towards a crucial member of the society, and they’d be back to distrust in no time.” _

_ Deimos, being Deimos, wanted more than ‘not much’. _

_ “Come on, brother. Surely we’re not going to settle for a simple ‘fire’ are we?” Brother had teased him. _

_ He’d mused thoughtfully, “I actually thought we were. We haven't done fires in a while.” _

_ “Yeah, but think of all the other things we could do,” Deimos had pressed. _

_ He used to pride himself on being able to withstand Brother’s  ‘annoying personality’ better than Tassos could. But the constant prodding and pestering made him reevaluate that mental award. _

_ Deimos slunk to his side, smirking. “So we’re still doing that nightmare thing right?” _

_ He groaned softly, rolling his eyes. “Just because my name means ‘nightmare’ doesn’t automatically ensure my skill in the field, Brother.” _

_ “Stop being so humble, it’s unlike you.” Deimos poked him. “You know good and well you prefer the ‘mental’ fear more than the physical fear.” _

_ Brother had him there. He did prefer messing with the minds instead of providing an active threat they had to worry about.  _

_ Brother shifted his position, sighing softly. “Alright, I’ll say it. You are...better at these things than I am.” _

_ Oneiros smirked. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you. Can you say that again?” _

_ Brother’s smile twitched and shrank considerably. “I said, you deaf oaf, you’re better at the mental fears then I am.” _

_ His smirk turned into a full-blown smile, “That wasn’t so hard, was it?” _

_ Deimos glanced away, muttering something incomprehensible. Oneiros turned away, facing the polished townhouse that was their target with interest. _

_ “This should be fun,” he purred. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who would wish to weep the losses of our brave heroes, let us take a moment of silence.  
> To the cast of Punisher Pumice.  
> May they greet the ones who will die in the future with joy,  
> because they will be more deaths  
> Definitely


	12. Chapter 11: FIELD TRIP

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "HEY, DAD!!!111!!"  
> "Uh oh."
> 
> In which The Knight goes on a field trip and meets someone he doesn't want to meet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> Once again, feedbacks and constructive criticisms are always appreciated!

The Knight hurried out of the castle.

He had to act fast, there were multiples at stake. 

First, he would go to the Crystal Kingdom; Quakemaster had the best chance of accepting his explanation. Though he still hadn’t thought of what he would say to them. 

Hopefully, the notion that if he were to  _ fail _ everyone - them included - would  _ die _ . 

He skidded to a stop; but what of Mistmaster?

He cursed his cowardice. 

This is where it got him in the end.

No matter, he had to succeed. For his masters, for Peridot, Parfait, for his -

For his friends.

He picked up the pace, racing through the trees, his cloak billowing behind him. Maybe if he was lucky enough, even Protector would be willing to help him, though he heard she had gone quite neglectful over the past few millennia. 

Hopefully, she won’t be too bothered by him breaking down her door at a god-forsaken hour such as this.

In his haste, he didn’t hear the sound of his footsteps turn distant, nor did he see the trees turn pixelated. In fact, the only reason he realized it at all was that the source of it was in front of him.

“Glitchmaster,” he breathed out.

_**“Sir Nightmare.”** _

_ Oh no that’s bad. _

The utter coldness in her mechanical voice was even more pronounced than usual.

**“I felt your pain a few days ago, yet never would I have guessed _this_ was what had become of you.”**

He narrowed his eyes. The Knight straightened, staring down the Disaster Master.

“Explain, Glitchmaster. What brings you away from your post?”

_**“Don’t pretend to have the upper hand here, it will only make things worse for you, Traitor.”** _

His eyes widened and he took a step back. 

_ This is really bad _ .

“What are you-?”

**_ “How long have you been sabotaging us? Was it after Mistmaster was subjected to his fate?” _ **

He looked away, then stared back at her with defiance. “You don’t understand of what you speak, Glitchmaster.”

_**“dON’t I?”** _

He was knocked on his back with the explosion. As quickly as he could he got to his feet, his eyes wide in panic and shock.

_**“I know Mistmaster was reduced to a SHELL of what he was because of you. I know the feeling of DEFEAT and HUMILIATION every time I fell at the hands of BUNNYPEOPLE because of you. I know the THREATS you make, the utter DISAPPOINTMENT in your eyes when you see us fail.”** _

The Knight could only stare, his form tense. Yet he knew that if he were attacked, he wouldn’t fight back. 

After all, he deserved her wrath.

But he cannot die yet.

“Glitchmaster,” he started. “I-I know, you are in pain-”

**_“dO you?”_ **

He had to duck from an attack that was hurled at his head. The Knight glanced back, staring at the charred and pixelated tree behind him.

He decided that he would not like that to happen to his head.

“Please, listen. Steve, do you remember Steve?”

The Knight nearly breathed out in relief as he saw her hesitate.

**_ “I recall Steve, what of him?” _ **

“He’s back. He’s the reason for my current- predicament. And he means to destroy Dreamside and everyone along with it.”

She remained silent, the area around her still pulsing with her power. Then she drew it in and the forest regained some form of normality. This time, The Knight released a small exhale of relief. 

_**“What are you going to do? Stop him?”** _

He blinked. “Preferably.”

**_ “Hm, well I suppose I know where I stand.” _ **

He scrutinized her. “I have this feeling that’s not what I’d hoped it would be.”

_**“However did you figure that out?”** _

“Mortals call it a gut feeling.”

Glitchmaster pulsed as she spoke. _**“I will not help you, Sir Nightmare.”**_

Despite knowing where it was going, he was still taken aback. “But you will die.”

_**“Then so be it. I came here to kill you, Sir Nightmare. Be grateful I am merely parting with a few choice words.”** _

“Please, Glitchmaster. I cannot defeat him on my own.”

She stared at him silently for a few moments. **_“You sound like a hero.”_**

“I- what?”

**_ “The tone of your voice as you prepare to kill your enemy sounds just like every hero we had ever fought.” _ **

He stared at her, dumbfounded.

_**“Perhaps,”** _she mused, _**“I will leave with more than a few words.”**_

His magic tugged at him and his eyes widened. The Knight turned and leapt to the side just as the ground beneath him exploded with an impressive display of pixelated shrapnel. It exploded outwards, then broke into tiny little pieces that plunged themselves into the ground, turning whatever it touched to a glitching, pixelated version of itself. 

Any other time he would have been proud.

He actually still is. 

He whipped around, summoning his scythe. Already he was feeling exhausted. It was hard to remember that he no longer had an unlimited well of magic inside him. Thankfully, his scythe should make it easier.

_ **“Is that your weapon? I’ve never seen it before."** _

She loomed before him, the power she radiated making him sick.

_**“Let’s see how well you wield it.”** _

* * *

_**“Tired already?”** _

Too out of breath to respond immediately, he wheezed, clenching his scythe in his hand. 

“Enough, Glitchmaster,” he croaked.

_**“But we have only just begun.”** _

* * *

 

The tree in front of him exploded and he raised a hand to shield his face. There was only a charred, pixelated stump to mark where it once stood.

_**“Keep up, Sir Nightmare.”** _

He whipped around and raced the other way.

* * *

 

For the fifth time, he was flung down, his breath getting knocked out of him. He blinked the stars away, grunting as he scrambled to his feet. His scythe had been knocked out of his hands and was laying on the ground a few feet away. 

He made towards it, but froze when-

_**“Enough, Sir Nightmare. I had my fun.”** _

He whipped around, keeping her in his sights. She had attacked him repeatedly for the course of a few hours, he no longer trusted her at his back.

_**“By all means, continue with your hero quest, if you’d like.”** _

_**“But rest assured, Sir Nightmare. If we meet again,”** _

_**“I will kill you.”** _

With that, she drew her power to herself and disappeared.

 

* * *

 

The forest seemed empty without the constant explosion and crackling of magic. His arms stung lightly from where they were pricked or bruised when he shielded his face from shrapnel. He didn’t even have the energy to send his scythe back to the abyss, instead just dragged it behind him as he staggered over to a tree.

The Knight slid down, hissing softly as he ached.

_**‘You sound like a hero.’** _

Did he really? He’d hate that. He wasn’t trying to be ‘heroic’, he just didn’t want his maniacal brother to destroy the world.

_ Then why didn’t you let the ‘Heroes’ deal with it? _

He narrowed his eyes.

They were children, they had been fighting battles they shouldn’t even be imagining at their age. He couldn’t just stand by and watch children die for his sake.

_ Hero… _

He snarled at himself, drawing his limbs closer stubbornly. He never thought he would hate it when he himself had a point, but mortal minds were awfully fond of mutiny.

His scythe pulsed softly in the night air, turning the grass around it a soft, purple colour. He glanced at it, his eyes tracing the gentle, intricate designs he had carved long ago. 

Oddly, his vision began to blur slightly and he leapt to his feet. He whipped around, half-expecting Glitchmaster to reappear and finish the job. 

Nothing leapt at him though, he was left jumping around, squinting at nothing and everything. He narrowed his eyes, then blinked. 

Slowly, hesitantly, he raised a hand to his face, blinking at the tears glistening on his fingers.

_ It seems mortals cry even in frustration _ , a cynical part of him murmured. 

The Knight pressed himself against the tree, sliding down. Gently, he removed his borrowed glasses, placing them beside him.

As soon as he rested his head between his hands, he didn’t bother stopping the warm and steady flow of tears.

 

* * *

 

The bell rang on the docks, signalling the nearing vessel. Cordelia pulled her hood closer to her face, ensuring she was positioned in a way that the late-arrivals and the early-departing wouldn't be able to see her face beneath the shadow of the hood.

The docks were filled with sleepy families as they greeted their beloveds. As soon as they reunited, they hurried away.

If she were to squint, she could almost swear she could sense fear amongst the people of Dreamside.

She shrugged it off. They still thought The Knight was a threat to Dreamside, that was all there was to it.

A small few were walking towards the boat, bunnypeople moving back to their homes and their places of birth.

She walked off the vessel, keeping her head held down. She had to walk quickly if she were to reach the castle undetected. The trip had taken longer than usual. 

As she walked, she collided lightly with someone who was walking towards the boat, in the opposite direction. Having bumped into enough bunnypeople, she was prepared to hear the soft ‘I’m sorry’ or ‘excuse me’. 

She was surprised when all she heard was silence.

Cordelia glanced back, her eyes widening as, for a second there, she could almost be sure the person who had knocked into her was The Knight himself.

However, as he walked he disappeared into the crowd, and she decided to write it off as lack of sleep. She probably shouldn’t be staying up all night for a few nights anyway.

As much as she tried to explain to herself, however, she couldn’t seem to shake the image of The Knight walking onto the boat.

But that was ridiculous.

Why would he be heading for the Crystal Kingdom?

 

* * *

* * *

 

_ This was bad. _

_ Oneiros glanced around in panic. Brother was pressed to his side, his smile stretched so thin you could no longer call it a smile. Instead, it would be more accurate to call it a grimace. _

_ He shot Brother a glare. “I thought you said they were all asleep?” _

_ Deimos glanced at him irritably. “Now? Seriously? When we’re just about to get caught?” _

_ “If your info was correct then we would even be about to get caught!” _

_ “Shhh SHHH. Shut UP, you dumb oaf.” Deimos swatted his horns as the bird creature walked in the room. _

_ The two brothers crouched down behind the counter, keeping as silent as possible. Clawed feet walked around, checking behind curtains and in closets, most likely looking for the source of the noise. An elbow jabbed him and he barely kept himself from hissing, shooting Brother a cross look.  _

_ He was only meet with a sneer from his brother as Deimos gestured to his head. _

_ It took him a minute, but he soon figured out what Deimos wanted him to do. _

_ It was too bad he didn’t want to do it. _

_ A few more harshly physical gestures from his brother managed to convince him enough, that and combined with the fact that the footsteps were getting closer. _

_ Grumbling internally, he extended a palm and murmured, _

_ “Nothing’s here, you are imagining things.” _

_ A tense silence filled the room. _

_ The footsteps walked away, accompanied by a small murmur, “Should probably get some sleep. I’m imagining things.” _

_ As soon as they closed the door behind them, the brothers breathed out a sigh of relief. _

_ He grimaced, eyes narrowed as he fought against a wave of nausea. For a moment, all he heard was a ringing sound. _

_ “-ther? Hey, snap out of it.” _

_ Oneiros blinked as, shakily, his brother’s face appeared in his vision. Deimos looked concerned as he scrutinized him, smile shrinking. _

_ “You spent  _ **_way_ ** _ too much energy. You didn’t have to make him go to sleep, all you needed to do was make him go away.” _

_ Oneiros growled softly, irritably swatting Brother’s arm. “Shut up,” he muttered. “I’m fine I just need to-” _

_ “You’re not fine, obviously. Your cape is looking pale,” Brother replied, grabbing onto his shoulders. Gently, Brother got him to stand and was leading him towards the window, which was the way they came from. _

_ Oneiros had no problem with contact, but the way Brother was holding him made him feel weak and pathetic. Crossly, he yanked himself out of his brother’s grip, snarling at him. _

_ “I said I’m FINE.” _

_ Deimos stared at him in silence, then glanced away. “Yeah, sure.” _

_ Oneiros strode towards the window, not bothering to glance back as he climbed out into the night sky. _

_ Deimos stared after his brother’s retreating figure, then, slowly, climbed out after him. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Huh.  
> Whatever is The Nightmare Knight doing in the Crystal Kingdom, Cordelia?  
> HUh???


	13. Chapter 12: Find Waldo but it's not Waldo it's mega-dad.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Have you checked the fridge?"  
> "...why would he be in the fridge?"  
> "You never know."
> 
> In which The Knight is not in the fridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> As always, feedback and constructive criticisms are always appreciated.

After knocking on The Knight’s door for the fifth time with no answer, Parfait was starting to get worried.

“Monsieur Nightmare?” she called. “Breakfast is on the table.”

Still, no answer.

She wondered if it was excusable if she were to open the door without his permission. She shook the thought away; she hated it whenever Tomato and Lettuce did that.

But she wasn’t Tomato and Lettuce. At least, not to Sir Nightmare.

Taking in a deep breath, she mentally prepared an apology in her head and opened the door.

The deserted and empty room that greeted her did not cool her nerves in any way.

She glanced around, wringing her hands as she called out uncertainly, “Sir Nightmare..?”

“What are you doing?”

She screeched, leaping up in the air in surprise. The ‘Queen’ of the Doughnut Kingdom crossed her arms as she leaned on the doorway, snickering softly.

Princess Parfait glared at her. “Do NOT startle me like that ever again,  _ envoûter. _ ”

“Aw, don’t you think you’re being a bit over-dramatic, your highness?” she purred in reply. 

Cordelia’s cat-eyes flitted over the room, gaining a worried look to them when they perceived the empty room.

“Is he in the kitchen, with the others?” she asked.

For a moment, Parfait narrowed her eyes and had to resist the urge to deny all she knew. Why would  _ Cordelia  _ of all people care for Sir Nightmare’s whereabouts?

Then she recalled that the two were both the ‘villains’ of the story.  During their ‘scheming’ they must’ve grown close to each other.

Parfait sighed softly, shaking her head. “Non, I came here to get him. It’s the last breakfast the heroes will be joining us in before their quest.”

Amber eyes flicked towards her. “Their last breakfast?”

Parfait nodded. “They were planning on announcing it over the meal. I came here to get Sir Nightmare but, alas, he’s not here.”

The Queen’s eyes widened in panic for a split-second, but then they regained their usual, narrowed state so quickly she couldn’t be sure.

“Peridot will most likely know where he is.” She waved a hand nonchalantly, though, through the easy-going gesture, Parfait was sure she caught a whiff of frantic as Cordelia hurried to the kitchen.

Not having anywhere else to go, and also quite worrying for Sir Nightmare, she hurried after.

 

 

* * *

 

“What do you mean you don’t know where he is?”

Peridot widened her eyes at the note of panic in Cordelia’s voice. She crossed her arms, staring back at the Queen.

“Exactly what I said,” she said, tilting her head. “After he left me with the princess, that was the last time I saw him.”

Cordelia bit her nails, then hissed as she remembered that they were just recently manicured and instead settled for looking slightly sick. Peridot groaned, “Stop worrying. He’s a 500,000 year immortal Knight, he’ll be fine.”

“Except for the part where he’s not an immortal anymore,” Cucumber chimed in from the dining table.

“I thought I saw...you’re right, Peridot. He’ll be fine,” Cordelia murmured. Her eyes flicked towards the heroes settled around the dining table. “You guys are leaving?”

Almond, who had her head propped up on her hand, snorted softly. “You sound sad to see us go.”

“I am not,” Cordelia snapped.

“Yeah, we are leaving,” Nautilus interjected before yet another argument could ensue. She raised a hand, feeding a spoonful of cereal to the familiar draped along her shoulders. “Sir Nightmare told us about Steve.”

Peridot pulled up a chair. “She doesn’t know about Steve. This is why we’re making a ‘meeting’.”

Nautilus shot her a look that wasn’t quite scathing but wasn’t exactly peachy either. “He  _ said _ that Steve was launching a plan to end the world and now we have to go back out and stop him.”

“Wait, what?” The Queen turned to the heroes with wide eyes. “Steve? He’s back?”

“Yes, he is. As the ‘Legendary Heroes’, it is our responsibility to stop him,” Sir Carrot confirmed, shaking the bits of cereal of his spoon. “Did someone microwave cereal?”

Cucumber, being the most intelligent, pushed away from the bowl of milk and rocks. “I wish The Knight would get here soon. It would be pretty useful to find out all we can before taking  _ another _ Immortal on.”

“Yes, Sir Nightmare would know most about him,” Parfait mused. “They did ‘grow up’ together, after all.”

Peridot, after sniffing the bowl of cereal, wrinkled her nose and made a gagging face. “Ugh, someone _ did _ microwave cereal.”

“All I’m saying is that The COSMIC TERROR,” Almond emphasised with air quotes, “better get his Cosmically terrifying face over.”

The young witch shot her a look, “Oh let him sleep in. It’s one of the best things about being mortal.”

“He’s not sleeping in,” Cordelia interjected. Peridot blinked at her in surprise.

“Wha- then where is he?” she asked.

The question seemed to spark a chain of alarm among the residents. Everyone started to glance around as if he was hiding behind their backs the entire time.

“Well- uh, maybe he’s somewhere else in the castle?” Cucumber suggested.

Parfait pushed her chair back. “Perhaps. the castle is quite big after all.” She glanced at the Queen. “They won’t take orders from me. Can you send your knights to go look for ‘im?”

Despite the polite wording, the princess’s voice had a hard undertone to it that Cordelia did not miss. She narrowed her eyes, then shrugged. “As you wish…”

Peridot stood up as well, her posture relaxed and nonchalant. “How hard is it to find a 500,000-year-old Knight anyway?”

 

* * *

“Where is he?!”

Sir Carrot glanced at Peridot, who had grabbed at her ears in distress. ‘Queen’ Cordelia was by her side in an instant, murmuring soft reassurances.

Through the corner of his eye, he saw Parfait pacing along the width of the hallway. After about three hours of sending guards, resending them and going out to search by themselves, the four of them wound up bumping in on each other.

He tried to ignore the awkwardness between himself and the princess.

“Do you think ‘e went out?” Parfait muttered, stopping to give them all a questioning gaze. Sir Carrot narrowed his eyes slightly.

“If he did, it would be a poor decision. The people of Dreamside will easily recognise a stranger in their midst,” he fretted.

Peridot rubbed at her eyes, leaning back at her wand. “Dear god Gramps. Why you gotta do this to us.”

Cordelia pursed her lips together in thought. “I- Earlier this morning I thought had I bumped into him. He was heading out of the Doughnut Kingdom.”

Sir Carrot gaped at her for a few minutes. “You-you didn’t think it was a good idea to mention this perhaps three hours earlier?”

She glared at him. “What information I keep is none of your business.”

“Well if it makes me round the castle a few hundred times then I really do think it-!”

“Enough!” Parfait snapped, her voice ringing with authority he had barely heard her use. Green eyes snapped between the both of them. “Did you get to see where he was ‘eaded?”

Cordelia glanced away in thought. “I think...the Crystal Kingdom?”

“The Crystal Kingdom?” Peridot blundered out. “Why, of all places, would he be going there?”

A chill crept along his spine. “Do you think he went to see Quakemaster?”

All gazes snapped to him, their owners all looking confused and disbelieving.

“Look,” Cordelia started, “if you think he’s going out to plot Dreamside’s demise again, that’s never going to happen.”

“Yeah, he’s  _ way  _ too soft,” the young witch added.

Sir Carrot blinked a few times. He was expecting some form of denial for their  _ friend _ , but the absolute conviction ringing in their voices surprised him.

“Actually, that might not be  _ entirely _ improbable,” Parfait murmured, a storm of thoughts brewing beneath her eyes.

Cordelia shot her a disbelieving look. “Really? I’d have thought with all the ‘hanging out’ you two are doing, you’d have a considerably higher amount of faith.”

The princess glared at her. “Because of all the ‘ ‘anging out’ we’re doing, I can make a ‘considerably’ well thought out guess of ‘is intentions, you jealous flea.”   
“How dare-!”

“OKAY. So what’s your guess, princess?” The young witch interrupted a soon-to-be heated argument. Peridot crossed her arms, eyeing the princess impatiently.

Parfait cleared her throat, shot Cordelia a pointed glance, and asked, “Do you remember the reason ‘e stuck with the cycle?”

“You mean, for the Disaster Masters?” His mind flashed to a few mornings ago, at the unexpected revelation. “What of it?”

“Well, clearly ‘e sees them as children -’is children- which is why ‘e’s so insistent on caring for them. That, and that ‘e puts up with Peridot-”

“Hey-!”

“Shows that when it comes to children, he’s an even more softie than usual.” Parfait had an exasperated, affectionate look on her face.

“Yeah,” Peridot nodded. “I remember persuading him to eat a cookie. The only reason he did was because I asked him to.”

“Exactly, so we can be sure that ‘e won’t exactly be ‘appy when children put their lives in danger,” she theorized.

Finally, he caught on. The spark lit up in his mind and he continued, “Which would mean that he’s not happy with sending the heroes -us- on a quest that would put our lives on the line.”

Cordelia frowned. “So, what you’re saying is he’s sending himself on a quest so that you won’t have to?”

The hallway was silent as they all realised that it was exactly what he had done.

Peridot rubbed at her eyes. “I need to find the others. Then we need to get ourselves to the Crystal Kingdom before he forgets his immortality and kills himself.”

Sir Carrot released a weary chuckle. “Guess we’re going on a quest anyway. Such joy.”

 

* * *

* * *

 

_ “ONE JOB!” _

_ Deimos flinched.  _

_ They had returned from their failed expedition with sullen looks. Brother was barely able to walk, much less float. Unable to simply reappear back, they were forced to travel back at a frustratingly slow pace to accommodate Brother’s walking speed.  _

_ The stubborn oaf, when he realised that he didn’t have enough power to teleport back, still insisted on floating the first leg of the journey. It was only after the fifth time he fell, and the third time Deimos suggested he stop - with a bit more bite to it - that he started walking. By the time their base had appeared in sight, Oneiros was too weak to protest when Deimos supported him the rest of the way. _

_ Still, in his opinion, the look on Tassos face as he opened the door to the cabin nearly made all the worry worth it. _

_ Nearly. _

_ The beds were just for decoration, Tassos had said. You will never need to use them.  _

_ Hopefully, he had joked. _

_ Deimos glanced away from his eldest brother’s wrath to glance into the room where Oneiros was resting. _

_ “Hey,” fingers snapped in front of his face. Irritated, Deimos frowned at The Immortal’s frown. _

_ The eldest released a sigh that was less sigh and more groan. “Will you at least tell me what you thinking when you decided to ignore my perfectly fine and useful instructions?” _

_ Deimos tilted his head. “Is this another rhetorical question that’ll make you yell at me again if I try to answer?” _

_ A spiteful grin flickered on the eldest’s face. “Good. You’re learning something in that thick head of yours.” _

_ Deimos glanced away, resentment burning up inside him. He knew, though Tassos would never admit it, that if Brother stood here and  _ **_he_ ** _ was on the bed, he wouldn’t receive the same deafening treatment he had. _

_ “Wow, do you have a physical problem with meeting my figurative eyes or are you just a dumbass?”  _

_ Deimos’ gaze snapped back. “I’m guessing that’s a rhetorical question. Are you going to ask something I can reply to or are we just going to stand here for the next few millennia?” _

_ Tassos’ grin widened. “There’s that infamous snark.” _

_ Deimos stared at him in silence, then glanced away, scoffing. _

_ “Shut up,” he muttered. _

_ Tassos snickered softly, then fell silent as he glanced into the room. _

_ “He’ll be fine, right?” Deimos blurted out, then regretted it. It was bad enough that he was considered weak physically, he did not need the reputation of a ‘softie’ to go along with it. _

_ Thankfully, Tassos’ merely gave him an understanding smile. “He’s an immortal, he’ll be fine.” _

_ Just as he said it, a loud thump rang from the room. Neither of them had to say anything; they knew exactly who was stupid enough to roll off the bed while he recovering. Deimos made for the door, only to be held back by the arm by the eldest, and was made to face his warning smile.  _

_ “I still, eventually, want to know what’s going through that noggin of yours,” he said, giving one of his horns a firm tug. _

_ Deimos grunted, smacked the hand away, and gave Tassos a smirk. _

_ “Good Luck.” Deimos waved as he walked in the room to help his stupid, dumb Brother. _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will be better, I swear.  
> Maybe.  
> I hope.  
> We'll return to What The Hell Gramps Is Doing then, so it'll be more interesting than watching the heroes starve.  
> Cheerio.
> 
> (By the way, 'sorcière' means sorceress. So Parfait is basically calling Cordelia a witch)


	14. Chapter 13: Excuse me I am very important.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which The Knight is upset.  
> There are new friends.  
> And someone needs to help the princess.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> As always, feedback and constructive criticisms are appreciated!
> 
> If you're a long-time reader of mine, welcome back! If you would go back to the beginning, you'd find that they are a few changes here and there.  
> But don't worry! Nothing that affects the story has changed.

 

When The Knight tripped over his own feet for the seventh time, he decided that a break was in order.

He paused in his stride, resting an arm along the cliff wall. If he were to glance back, he would no longer be able to spot the dock he got off from. Which he supposed was an accomplishment, if any.

The Knight rubbed at his sore feet, deeply regretting not getting off closer to Basaltbury.

However, the bunnypeople on the boat had begun to give him strange looks. After what happened with Glitchmaster, he hardly trusted his luck any longer.

A small vibration startled him and he leapt to his feet, his scythe immediately in his hand. Narrowed eyes glared at every nook and cranny for an embarrassingly long time before he realised that it was his own stomach.

“Ugh.” 

He hated being mortal.

He also hated the fact that he would really appreciate a smoothie.

The Knight shook off the feeling, banishing his scythe back to the abyss.

He continued walking.

 

* * *

 

The Knight raced through hallway after winding hallway. Behind him, he could hear the stomping sound of the Stonesuits as they gave chase.

In hindsight, walking into an ‘enemy’ base wielding a massive weapon may have not been his brightest moment. But in his defence, he honestly thought he would be recognised.

The Knight was still seething about actually having to run from his enemies. He had gotten used to being able to either disappear or, if he was in a truly bad mood, make _them_ disappear.

He leapt down a small flight of stairs, skidding to a halt as he glanced into the mirrors on the walls.

It was no wonder why he wasn’t recognised.

He looked terrible.

The Knight could hardly believe what he was seeing. For a moment, he thought the glasses were to blame, but even as he cleaned them and repositioned them, it was still the same.

‘Dull’ would be an understatement. He was literally grey, his eyes no longer had the intensity he was used to. His cloak was muddy and torn at the fringes. He looked exhausted; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t slow his breathing enough to not hear it.

It was no wonder he wasn’t recognised.

He hardly recognised himself.

Too slow, he realised that the clomping had gotten close. Before he knew what was happening, the ground hurtled towards him.

 

* * *

 

The Knight was getting tired of waking up in places he had no memory of getting to.

Actually, he was just tired of waking up.

As he pulled himself to a seating position, The Knight’s yellow eyes skimmed over the various bits and bobs in the room.

It looked like a store.

Suddenly, his bruises seemed to be minor compared to the sting in his pride. 

Huffing a sigh, he got up, brushing off any mud specks that had stuck to his clothes.

Instinctively, he tried to summon his scythe. When nothing happened, he glared at his palm for a few minutes before he realised that he held it out when he got caught. They must’ve taken it.

He groaned aloud.

This sucks.

“H-Hello? Is someone there?”

The Knight froze. He turned, frowning when he realised that he was alone in the room.

“Hello?”

Slowly, he realised that it was coming from the _other_ room. Being careful to step silently, he made his way over to the walls. Eventually, he reached a spot that, as the voices got clearer, must’ve been the adjoining wall between his room and theirs.

“I don’t know why you bother trying, Andesite. No one is coming.”

He reeled back; he recognised the voice. Yet the words that came out of her were ones he would never have expected.

“With all due respect, your highness,” the first voice replied, their voice firm. “I don’t think I need to listen to you anymore.”

“Come on, Andy. You can do better than that.”

“Oh for the love of-! Who’s side are you on, Chert?”

“Mine.”

The Knight snickered to himself.

“Look, I swear I heard something,” Andesite insisted.

“Honestly, I think you’re just imagining things,” Chert replied.

“Well excuse me for having hopes that I won’t die here!”

Andesite’s voice had begun to fade slightly. The Knight stepped forward, jumping as he accidentally kicked over an empty bottle.

“Hey, I think I hear something too.”

Mentally berating himself, The Knight tensed as he heard two pairs of footsteps walking directly to his wall.

One of them knocked on the wall. 

“What are you doing?” Andesite asked dubiously.

“I don’t know,” Chert responded.

“Well stop it then, you might scare them!”

The thought was so ridiculous, he couldn’t help but snort aloud. “I wouldn’t worry about that.”

Really, the sound of _them_ tripping over their feet as they hurried to get away should not be as satisfying as it was.

Yet it was.

“What- what the-?” Chert gasped.

The Knight crossed his arms. “Please. You don’t even know who I am.”

For a moment, the walls were silent.

“N-no, but your voice gives me the creeps,” Chert replied at last.

“Chert!” Andesite protested. “They might be able to help us.”

“I don’t want them to help us.”

“Don’t you think you’re being a tiny bit judgemental? I mean, you’re criticising him because of his voice.”

“I’d be careful if I were you,” The Knight rumbled. “If I were any other person, you might’ve made me self-conscious enough to be mute.”

Chet grumbled something incomprehensible through the wall, but The Knight doubted it was an apology.

“Actually, I wanted to ask about the princess.” The Knight wasn’t at all surprised when Chert protested.

“Oh please, it’s not like I can hurt her from all the way on the other side of the wall,” he snapped. “But I _may_ be able to help her.”

“You- you can?” The Knight heard Andesite press their palms against the wall. “How?”

The Knight fidgeted uncomfortably. “That’s not important.”

“Yeah?” Chert retorted. “Likely story.”

Impatient, The Knight scoffed. “Fine, then. Don’t take my help.”

“Wait!” Andesite protested. “Uh- please, wait. I need to talk to my partner.”

He didn’t bother responding; instead just leaning against the many tables stacked against each other. The Knight could hear their hushed voices rapidly firing at each other. 

Through the corner of his eye, The Knight spotted a door that presumably led to the outside. He glanced back to the wall, after making sure that their discussion was still ongoing, he slunk over to the door.

_It’s not going to work._

Nevertheless, he tried it anyway.

It didn’t work.

He sighed, taking the opportunity to fully evaluate the room he was in. The Knight was right the first time, it was a store. That did not do good for his pride. Elegant looking chairs were stacked beside the matching tables he had leaned against earlier. They were a couple of casino slot machines that he figured were either malfunctioning or as a replacement. On the other side of the adjoined wall were shelves that held multitudes of dices and other gambling devices.

“Hello? Are you still there?” Andesite’s voice called.

“It’s not like I can leave,” The Knight replied but returned to his spot on the other side of the wall.

He could practically _feel_ Andesite’s fidgeting. “How about.. you tell us how to help the princess and we’ll tell you what we know?”

The Knight was tempted to counter by saying that they can’t tell him anything that would be of use to him but faltered.

It’s not like he can _go_ anywhere, so he supposed there was no harm in earning a few new pieces of information, however trivial they might be.

“Very well,” he agreed.

“Great! See, I told you they could help.”

Chert merely grumbled something in return.

“First, I need to know what happened to her. In fact, it would be good if you could tell me what _all_ of you are doing here.”

 

* * *

 

Andesite paused.

“Is this truly necessary?” They asked.

“Yes,” the wall replied.

Chert gave them a ‘don’t trust them’ look. She’s never been keen on trusting people, though Andesite supposed that no one would be too keen on trusting a random voice behind a wall. Especially in a place like this.

“Oh, sure. Take your time. It’s not like I can go anywhere,” the voice muttered. Through the corner of their eye, Andesite could see Chert rolling her eyes.

“Alright,” they started cautiously. “But you have to swear to help us afterwards.”

The wall was silent for a few moments, then Andesite could hear soft chuckling.

“Ah, I see. You don’t need to worry,” the voice assured them. “I have no intention of harming you.”

Any other time, Andesite would’ve insisted on a bigger show of faith, but they didn’t really have many options.

Ignoring the irritated look Chert gave them, Andesite begun.

 

* * *

 

They were part of the Crystal Kingdom Knight force. They knew of Quakemaster’s shenanigans on the other side of the Kingdom, though without Queen Saphire’s instructions, they were too hesitant to act. It was only until her highness, Princess Ametrine, had slammed open the door to their barracks did they gather enough confidence to face a Disaster Master.

Their troop had started with six Knights, led by Princess Ametrine.

The moment they walked through the door, they were met with Obsidian; Quakemaster’s lackey.

The moment they had walked through the door, they were reduced to three, including the princess.

Ametrine, Andesite said, had put up a valiant fight against the Stonesuits. But even she could not fend off a hundred of them, and her troop was mercilessly attacked. Even then, her highness kept fighting.

Then Quakemaster walked into the fray.

The next Andesite knew, Princess Ametrine had fallen to her knees. They rushed to the princess’ aid, but with only Chert fending off the Stonesuits, they were pitifully outnumbered.

 

* * *

 

“She’s been oddly pessimistic ever since.” Andesite gave her highness a worried glance.

The wall was silent. For a moment, Andesite had a nagging feeling of dread. The voice, despite the only thing about it being deeper than average, gave them the chills.

 Even Chert felt it. Andesite could tell with the way she would frequently glance at the wall and shiver.

“Quakemaster’s curse.” It was so sudden, it took them a moment before Andesite realised it was coming from the wall.

Besides them, Chert straightened. “Quakemaster’s curse?” She echoed, her eyes wide. 

Andesite glanced between their friend and the wall. “What’s Quakemaster’s curse?”

“It’s-”

Chert was interrupted as the tv in their room flickered to life.

“Finally, you’ve figured it out.”

The Crystal Knights, instinctively, positioned themselves with the princess between them. 

Chert snarled. “Obsidian.”

Quakemaster’s lackey tilted his head. “Greetings, Knights. I have to say, I did not expect you to figure it out after _this_ long.”

“Well maybe,” Andesite growled. “You could have just _told_ us?”

“Why, where would be the fun in that?”

They narrowed their eyes, irritated. Obsidian merely chuckled.

“Master Quake is not _entirely_ at fault, here. He’s merely following orders. Soon, your princess’ will turn entirely to stone.”

A chill crept along Andesite’s spine. “What then? You keep her as a trophy?” They demanded.

Slowly, Obsidian reached up to his face. 

They could feel Chert’s horrified gaze along with the fear Andesite felt when The Lackey removed his mask to reveal a Dreamsider completely in stone.

“Then, Master Quake may put her to use.”

The Crystal Knights could only gape in horror as Obsidian replaced his mask, talking about a tally. None of them registered anything, even as the television was shut off, they could only stare at each other.

 

* * *

 

Finally, after what seemed like too long, Chert snapped out of her trance.

“Hey,” she stomped over to the wall, knocking on it.

“I’m still here,” the voice replied, albeit a bit quieter.

Screw that, she had bigger things to deal with than The Wall’s feelings.

“Think you can tell us how to fix her now?” 

Somewhere, a part of Chert told her that she shouldn’t be too harsh on someone who could possibly help.

But she was panicking. And rightfully so.

“There’s no way to fully halt its course unless you count vanquishing Quakemaster,” The Wall said. Chert thought it sounded repelled at the idea of doing that, but she pushed the thought away and focused as it continued, “There _is_ a way to delay it.”

“Quakemaster’s curse renders the victim to be numb to ‘Love’ or any other emotions related to it,” The Wall explained. “The victim only feels negative emotions, or perhaps just feels numb. The best way to counter it is to remind them of what made them happy.”

Chert frowned. “So basically, give them a pep talk?”

“Doesn’t sound too hard,” she heard Andesite mutter.

“Yes, basically. However, this will only delay the curse. It will not stop it.”

Chert groaned. “This is all that Night guy’s fault. Why the hell did he make them so powerful?”

“It benefits him, Chert.” Andesite chided lightly, already crouching beside the princess. “The villains always do what benefits them.”

She huffed and crossed her arms. “What do you think, Mr Voice Behind The Wall? Do you think The Nightmare Knight is an insufferable god-person?”

“I’m sure he’s not all bad,” The Wall replied.

Chert scoffed. “How would you know?”

“A hunch.”

She chuckled as she slid down against the wall. “Well, can’t blame you. Aren’t hunches what make up the majority of our knowledge?”

Andesite gave her a look. “Really, Chert? Now?”

“Hey, you never know. Obsidian could be knocking down our door any second and give us _all_ a fresh helping of Quake-eys Fresh Curse.”

“It seems to me you won’t be needing any helpings,” The Wall snickered.

“Oh shush.”

Despite their more than odd setting, a more-or-less comfortable silence filled the rooms.

The Wall spoke, suddenly. “How long have you been here?”

Chert and Andesite glanced at each other. “We’ve been stuck here for about a day?” Andesite guessed.

“Yeah,” Chert confirmed. “Though, it took us about two or three to trek from the Cold Side all the way over here.”

The Wall remained silent.

Andesite sat back dejectedly.

Chert glanced at them as they sighed. “It’s no use. I can’t think of anything else that might’ve made her highness happy.”

“Have you tried her hobbies?” Chert suggested.

“Travelling, training, reading, I tried everything.” Andesite lifted their hands in defeat. “I got nothing.”

“What about her relationship with Princess Piano?” The Wall suggested.

Princess Ametrine twitched.

The Crystal Knights glanced at each other in surprise.

“Her what now?” Chert asked.

This time, it was The Wall’s turn to sound surprised. “You don’t know about her highnesses’ bond with each other?”

“No... but Ametrine has always been pretty secluded,” Andesite mused.

Chert nodded in thought. “It would make all those visits to the Melody Kingdom some sense.”

“I’ll try it.” Andesite leaned in, murmuring too softly for Chert to hear. But Ametrine was getting more and more responsive, even outright correcting Andesite when they accidentally on purpose mispronounced her name.

“Is it working?”

Chert jumped slightly. She had forgotten there was someone else here.

“Yeah,” she breathed out. “It’s working.”

The Wall fell silent.

Chert rubbed the back of her neck and chuckled. “Hey. I’m uh- I’m sorry if I rubbed you the wrong way or anything.”

“It’s alright,” The Wall responded after a few moments. It sounded uncertain as if the person on the other side couldn’t see why she was apologising. “If I were you, I wouldn’t trust a random voice on the other side of the wall, either.”

“Heh. Glad that’s settled.”

Once again, the room settled into an odd form of a comfortable silence, broken only by Andesite’s murmurings to her highness.

Suddenly, footsteps sounded.

Chert glanced to Andesite, who also had a look of confusion on their face.

“Hey there. Is that you?” Chert called.

“..No. I thought that was you,” The Wall replied.

Instantly the atmosphere in the room tensed. 

The footsteps kept getting louder.

Andesite got to her feet. “Can you tell where it’s coming from?”

“With how confusing these halls are?” Chert shook her head.

“It’s coming to my door.” The Wall said.

The Crystal Knights glanced at each other in panic.

“Uh- uh hold on. We’ll think of something-” Andesite started.

“Don’t bother,” The Wall interrupted. Chert could hear some shuffling as if the person on the other side was getting up to their feet. “I’ll be fine.”

Chert hissed, “Oooh, I really want to rub that in your face when you come back here with that curse.”

The Wall chuckled. “That won’t happen. Trust me.”

As the footsteps neared, The Wall said, “And don’t worry. Help will come soon. Just keep reminding the princess what she has to live for.”

Chet could only gape at the wall. She was about to make a snarky comeback to hide the anxiety that nagged at her, but before she could, she heard the door creak open.

The door that wasn’t theirs.

“Master Quake will see you now,” Obsidian said to the person.,

“About time,” The Wall replied.

“I- My apologies, sir.” Obsidian sounded nervous.

For a moment, the person on the other side was silent.

“Well, we wouldn’t want to keep him waiting,” The Wall said at last.

“Of- of course, right this way.” Obsidian hurried off. 

For a moment, Chert could hear nothing.

Then unbothered footsteps walked after Quakemaster’s Lackey.

As the door shut, Chert and Andesite shared a worried glance.

 

* * *

 

The Knight walked after Quakemaster’s Lackey.

His mind kept turning back to the Crystal Knights. To the conversation they had, and what he learnt from them. He couldn’t help but worry for Princess Ametrine. When he spied her, back when he had his immortality, she was assisting with their Knight's training regime. Already he was glad that it was The Heroes who battled him, instead of the Princesses.

The Knight, deep in thought, did not notice the sudden step. He tripped slightly, managing to catch himself before he hit the ground. In front of him, Obsidian glanced back.

“Is everything alright?” He asked.

The Knight stepped up to stand beside The Lackey. “Perfectly fine.” The Knight replied.

Obsidian gave him a glance before he dipped his head. “Of course.”

As they continued their journey, The Knight gave Obsidian a few glances.

The Lackey looked tense. Usually, the response would’ve been expected. 

But from what he had heard through the wall, it appeared that Obsidian had been overcome with Quakemaster’s curse. Victims of that curse are numb.

They _cannot_ be tense.

He narrowed his eyes. 

“How long have you been Quakemaster’s Lackey, Obsidian?” The Knight asked, just to gauge his reaction.

“I believe I was one of his first, sir,” Obsidian replied. Though he looked just as tense, The Knight could feel Obsidian’s unease.

“Hm,” The Knight replied. As he looked forward, he could feel Obsidian glancing at him in fear.

Really, he shouldn’t be enjoying this as much as he was.

Yet he was.

“It’s always a pleasure to meet someone who helps us willingly,” The Knight said, carelessly.

He felt Obsidian’s eyes on him once more. “...Sir?”

The Knight glanced back at him, meeting his eyes. The Knight nearly giggled when he saw Obsidian quake beneath the Jester’s mask.

The Knight glanced forward as he walked. Obsidian had fallen back a bit.

Eventually, after they wound through hallways after hallways, the pair stopped in front of Quakemaster’s office.

“Master- Master Quake will be waiting for you inside, s-sir.” Obsidian bowed and gestured for him to enter, albeit a bit shakily.

The Knight paused.

The moment he walked through the door, Quakemaster would demand answers.

The Knight would have to give them to him.

He glanced to Obsidian. “My scythe?”

The Dreamsider shivered slightly. “Inside, sir.”

Good, he might need it.

The Knight breathed out a sigh, then pushed open the doors.

 

* * *

* * *

 

 _“Should you_ **_really_ ** _be up?”_

_Oneiros rolled his eyes. “Stop being a helicopter parent, Tassos. I’ll be fine, I’m an immortal.”_

_Tassos crossed his arms. “Immortals can still die, dumbass.”_

_Onerios glared at him._

_They were in the room designated to test out their abilities. Scorch marks and scratch marks decorated the cement walls. There was an adjustable roof for whenever Tassos decided they needed practice with their size adjustments._

_Deimos came up. “I tried to convince him not to come.”_

_“That incident was two days ago, I’m_ **_FINE_ ** _,” he snapped._

_Tassos gave him an eyeless stare before, sighing, he relented. “Oh, alright fine. You’re lucky it isn’t one of the endurance tests today.”_

_Deimos, who had glanced at Tassos funny when he relented, sighed in relief. “I hate those,” Brother muttered._

_Tassos floated past them, going deeper into the room._

_The Brothers shared a glance before joining him. The only sound was his own soft footsteps as he was forced to walk._

_He_ **_hated_ ** _it._

 _He hated not being able to float, he hated having to stay in bed for_ **_two days_ ** _and he hated the odd looks they would give him._

_He was an Immortal._

_He was_ **_fine_ **

_“There’s not a lot of energy involved in this one,” Tassos explained after they positioned themselves._

_“What?? No way, who are you and what have you done with the real Tassos?” Deimos joked._

_Tassos ‘rolled his eyes’. “Hardy har. No, the exercise you’ll be doing today is summoning one of these.”_

_He held out his hands. For a moment, there was silence, then Oneiros widened his eyes as he saw the outline of double-edged battle axe appeared in Tassos’s hands._

_A soft ‘whoosh’ and the weapon materialised in his hands. Tassos smirked at the awed expressions, throwing the weapon between his hands._

_“Right then. Show me what you got!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter might take a while, but I truly think it's for the best.
> 
> Cheerio!


	15. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things get heated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> As always, constructive criticisms are appreciated!

Quakemaster could hardly believe what he was seeing.

“What the-?” The Disaster Master could only gape as his Maker, Overseer and God-equivalent looked up. He didn’t even think The Boss could see his face.

He was so small.

And that hardly scratched the surface.

“Quakemaster.”

_ Oh thank god, he still sounds like him _ , Quakemaster thought. He snapped himself out of his trance. “Uh. Yeah, boss?”

The Nightmare Knight crossed his tiny arms. “I’m guessing you have questions.”

Quakemaster chuckled. “Heh. Yeah, you could say that.”

For some reason, Boss looked nervous. “Then- you might need to take a seat for this.”

“Oh-Oh! Yeah, sure. Just wanna give you this real quick though.” Quakematser grabbed the scythe from off his table, holding it between his fingers.

The Boss merely stared at it in silence for a few moments. Quakemaster hoped he hadn’t offended him by treating his weapon like a toothpick.

Fortunately, if The Boss was offended, he didn’t say anything.

“Thank you,” The Nightmare Knight said, taking it from his fingers.

Quakemaster nodded. “Anytime, boss.”

As he moved to his desk, through the corner of his eye, Quakemaster saw The Knight grip his scythe. 

Quakemaster barely stifled a shiver. Small or not, The Boss was still Immortal, and still much more powerful than he was. Quakemaster did not doubt that his God-equivalent could easily wield that scythe to kill.

“So, boss.” Quakemaster seated himself on his chair and leaned forward, resting his elbows on the desk. “What was it you wanted to explain?”

The Nightmare Knight merely gave him a look. “What is it do you want to know?”

Quakemaster blinked. “You’re joking.”

“I am not. Ask your questions and I’ll answer them.” The Knight glanced away. “Most of them.”

Well, 'most of them’ was the best he was going to get. 

“I was wondering-” Quakemaster began.

 

* * *

 

Peridot groaned, “Are we there yet?”

“I hardly know what you’re complaining about,” Sir Carrot muttered as he trekked alongside her. “At least you don’t have to walk.”

Peridot narrowed her eyes at him from the top of her wand. “Yeah, but I’m bored!”

Nautilus yawned. “It has been quite a while since we departed. Are you sure we couldn’t have gotten off closer to Basaltbury?”

At the front of the group, leading the way, Cucumber shook his head. “This is where he got off.” 

As if to prove it to them, he waved his glowing wand closer to the ground, making the footsteps he was following even clearer.

Parfait gave a breathless chuckle as she hiked at the edges of the group. “It would sound like Sir Nightmare to go on an extra ‘ike just to avoid suspicion.”

Cucumber paused suddenly. “This is the sixth time one of these large marks appeared.” 

Peridot leaned forward, staring at the large chunk of purple as Cucumber’s wand tracked The Knight’s magic signature.

“It looks like he fell,” she commented.

Everyone else crowded over to see. They all agreed that yes, it did look like he fell.

That would’ve meant he had fallen for six times,  _ already _ .

“Look.” Nautilus pointed further down the road. From here, they could already see another similar chunk of magic signature.

The Knight fell seven times throughout less than half of the journey.

“You gotta admire his determination,” Cucumber said, looking impressed.

“At least we know for sure we’re following the right guy,” Peridot added.

They continued walking.

Sir Carrot glanced to the load Peridot brought with her. He raised his eyebrows but didn’t say anything. 

Peridot tensed.

“She better not be drooling on my back,” Peridot huffed, indicating to the Dreamsider seated behind her. 

Almond had valiantly attempted to stay awake throughout the first quarter of the journey but had begun to fall back the moment they reached their first hill. Finally, after the group had to stop for the fifth time to wait for her to catch up, Cucumber simply carried her on his back for the rest of the incline.

It would have been a very sweet gesture.

If he hadn’t dumped his own sister at the back of Peridot’s wand the moment they had reached their summit.

What made it worse was that Almond barely stirred, instead just wrapping her arms around Peridot’s waist to secure herself.

Sir Carrot chuckled lightly. “You don’t have to worry. Young Almond is many things, but a drooler is not one of them.”

Assured, Peridot looked ahead.

 

Sir Carrot smirked to himself as he spotted the line of drool that stained the young witch’s lime green clothes.

 

* * *

 

The Knight kept his word.

He told Quakemaster everything.

Mostly.

Quakemaster’s first question was, unsurprisingly; “Why are you so small?”

So The Knight told him.

He recounted the events with Steve, starting from when he had learnt that The Heroes had lost the Dreamsword, to the battle he had with his brother; where he lost his immortality.

He simply left out all mentions of the Dreamsiders.

Every single one of them.

Even then, he was tense. Gripping the shaft of his scythe tighter the closer he got to the end. By the time The Knight had finished, he had begun to hear the telltale sounds of breaking wood.

The Knight forced himself to relax as Quakemaster hummed, deep in thought.

“‘spose it makes sense. Though, you’ll excuse me if I find this whole ‘ _ comin’ back _ ’ ordeal a bit strange.” 

The Knight stared at him. “We’ve been ‘ _ coming back _ ’ repeatedly over the few thousand years, Quakemaster.”

“Oh, no no Boss! I didn’t mean it like that.” Quakemaster waved his rock-hands in a defensive motion. “It’s just...I thought he was dead.”

The Knight paused.

Quakemaster took this as an encouragement to continue. “I mean, I know we can’t exactly die, but I heard you guys had this battle and everthin’, so I figured-”

“You guessed wrong,” The Knight interrupted, glancing away.

Quakemaster fidgeted with his fingers, looking uncomfortable. “Sorry for assumin’, Boss.”

After a few moments, The Knight mentally shook himself. “Enough about what happened,” he said. As soon as Quakemaster looked up, he continued, “there is something you need to know.”

“Yeah, but I have a few questions, if you don’t mind.”

The Knight blinked. He wanted to inform him of Steve’s shenanigans. They needed to move, fast. They still had Mistmaster to deal with after.

Yet he supposed, he  _ had  _ told Quakemaster that he would answer his questions.

“Very well,” The Knight relented, cautiously.

“Well, you see, I can’t seem to fit two and two together when you said-”

 

* * *

 

Parfait vaulted over the Stonesuit’s head, embedding her dagger deep within it.

As she landed, Parfait jumped slightly at the sudden cheers coming from Almond, Nautilus, and Peridot alike. She couldn’t help but strike a pose, only enticing more cheers from the children. 

The Stonesuit she was fighting crumbled and Parfait crouched down to recover her dagger. As she looked up, Almond was walking up towards her.

“Wow! Where’d ya learn how to do that?” Almond asked, sounding impressed.

Parfait chuckled as she rubbed the back of her neck. “Oh, it was a collective agreement from us princesses that we all learn a few moves to defend ourselves. I just asked  _ mon père _ to find me a class that taught more than just ‘a few moves’.”

“That is so cool.” Almond grinned. “Do they give classes for everybody?”

“Oh, _non_. Not that I know of.” Parfait immediately backtracked after seeing Almond’s forlorn expression, “But- but I’m sure I would be able to put in a good word for you!”

“Really?” Almond asked, her eyes sparkling.

“Of course!”

“Hey, you guys!”

Almond and Parfait glanced over to where Cucumber and the others had gathered. Even from where they were standing, the purple glow of The Knight’s magic signature could be seen in the dim lighting.

“He went this way!” The Hero gestured.

The two stepped over the piles of rubble, joined the others, and they all raced into the hallway.

 

* * *

 

“Now, I mean no offence, boss. It’s just there are a few things here and there that I just can’t seem to make sense of.”

The Knight felt his blood run cold. 

_ No, no no no no not yet not yet, he wasn’t ready he wasn’t  _ **_ready for this-_ **

“And I don’t mean to pry, Boss. But are you sure you’ve told me everythin’?”

 

* * *

 

Eventually, the team came up to a door.

“Is this it? Nautilus asked.

Cucumber frowned at the tracks; there was one, a long one that made it look as if The Knight was dragged in. And there was another; proper footprints leading out. What was clear was that at some point, The Knight was stuck in this room, and at some point, he left. But they overlapped each other so thoroughly, he couldn’t be sure which of them came first.

“I think it’s best if we just check this room,” Cucumber suggested, glancing up. “I can’t tell if he’s still in there or not.”

Almond squinted up at the sign on the door. “It says ‘Store for gembling-’”

“Gambling, Almond.”

“Nu-uh, Carrot. It says Gembling. ‘Store for Gembling Gems.’”

Cucumber frowned. “What is that? A brand?”

“I think it’s a pun,” Nautilus mused.

Parfait gave her a confused glance. “A what?”

“Why would they put The Nightmare Knight in a store?”Cucumber asked. “That makes no sense.”

“Eh, you never know.” Almond shrugged and gave him a grin. “They might’ve just found him interesting.”

“Ugh! Whatever, let’s just open the door,” Peridot interrupted. The young witch had gotten off her wand and walked to the door herself, giving it a firm push.

It swung open, revealing a room that was crowded with stuff, but empty of The Knight.

“Huh,” Almond huh-ed. “Guess you were right.”

 

* * *

 

“Boss? Are you okay?”

The Knight blinked and glanced up, forcing himself to meet his servant’s eyes. 

Quakemaster looked at him, genuine concern flashing in his eyes. The Disaster Master got up, walking around the desk to reach him. “Look, Boss. That whole ‘mortality’ thing has gotta be wearin’ you down. I’ll call Obsidian, he’ll patch you up, then we can talk about this later.”

The Knight shook his head. “We can’t, Quakemaster. This needs to be dealt with  _ now _ .”

“Boss, you’re barely able to hold yourself straight. Whatever it is, it’s gotta be less important than your own health-”

“Mistmaster did not surrender to the Hero.”

Quakemaster paused. “What did you say?”

 

* * *

 

Sir Carrot walked in the room last. The others were crowded around the various bits and bobs of the room, discussing amongst them on what they could’ve been used for. Young Cucumber, who had distanced himself, crouched along the side of a wall, running his fingers along the purple marks that signified The Knight’s presence.

Sir Carrot had a sudden image of Young Cucumber growing up to be a very skilled detective.

Like from one of those tv shows.

As Sir Carrot walked over to him, Cucumber gestured to the marks on the wall. “Look at this one.” 

He pointed to a rather large mark on the floor. “This one has a higher intensity than the others. He spent a lot of time sitting here.”

Sir Carrot frowned. “Perhaps this was simply the spot The Nightmare Knight had chosen to sit for the period he was stuck here?”

Cucumber gazed at the marks, deep in thought. “Maybe... but I don’t think so.”

This time, the young hero gestured to the markings that were situated around the room. “These are all dim compared to how intense this one is. And see?” He got up, walking over to where there was a pair of footprints facing deeper inside the room. 

“He walked up here, I’m guessing to look around or to check if the door was locked, then he rushed back to the wall.”

Sir Carrot’s frown deepened as he contemplated the theory. Then he glanced back to the wall. No matter how hard he squinted, he couldn’t see what made this wall so special.

“But,” Sir Carrot protested. “It’s a normal wall. What could he possibly gain from this particular wall?”

Cucumber walked back to stand alongside the wall. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “But it has to be something important.”

They fell into a contemplative silence, before;

“Hello?”

 

* * *

 

“I- Boss, what are you talkin’ about?”

The Knight glanced away, fidgeting with the scythe in his hand. “I punished Mistmaster...not because he was weak, or because he surrendered. But because he found out my secret, the truth about me.”

Quakemaster merely stared at him for a few moments more. The Disaster Master shook his head. “Boss, you’re talkin’ nonsense. Look, I’ll get Obsidian to come over - he’s great, boss. You’ll love him - and we’ll talk about this later-”

“No!” The Knight snapped. “I’ve told you, Quakemaster. This needs to be dealt with now.”

“Boss-”

“I’ve been sabotaging you.”

 

* * *

 

Chert could only gape as the Legendary Heroes busted open the door.

“Holy moly cow, The Wall was right.” 

A young boy wearing a green sweater looked at her funny. “What?”

“What?” Chert did not realise she had said that aloud.

“Princess Ametrine!” Princess Parfait and a Carrot-haired Knight rushed forward. 

Andesite had begun pulling the princess to her feet, though she stepped back to let the two look her over.

“What happened?” Her highness, Parfait, asked.

As Andesite explained, Chert glanced back to the others.

“Wait, so all of you guys are the heroes?” She asked, confused.

“Oh, no. Officially, Cucumber is the only hero here,” Princess Nautilus gestured to the green-sweatered boy who had heard her earlier. “This is his sister, Almond,” Her highness gestured to a girl with brown pigtails. “And that’s Peridot.”

Chert eyed Peridot’s squared ears. “Did you join in while they were passing through?”

“Pssh, nah. I was minding my own business in the Doughnut Kingdom, taking over castles when these dorks _begged_ for my help-”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not what happened.”

“Oh, what do you know, Almond.”

“Woah, woah.” Chert raised her hands, gesturing for them to slow down. “What now?”

Peridot smirked at her. “Look, we would tell you, but we’re a bit busy at the moment.”

 

* * *

 

“...boss?”

The Knight glanced away, unable to meet his servant’s eyes. “I’ve been- been sabotaging you. All of you, to protect the Dreamsiders.”

Quakemaster said nothing. 

This time, The Knight took his silence as an encouragement to continue.

“I- I know, I should have told you long ago. I waited...too long, with Mistmaster. As retaliation, he launched an attack on the Sky Kingdom, choosing a time when he’d knew I was distracted.” The Knight shut his eyes against the memory that threatened to overwhelm him. “By the time I found out, the Sky Kingdom was in ruins. So I cursed him; to keep him from causing further harm and to ensure that he would not speak of it to anyone.”

Still, Quakemaster said nothing.

After a while, The Knight forced himself to look up, to face his servant and to gauge on how he would need to continue. 

Quakemaster was staring at him, yet The Knight had a feeling that he was staring through him.

“Quakemaster I- I’m so-”

“Give me a minute, boss” Quakemaster interrupted him. “I’m still trying to catch up here.”

A chill of dread ran up The Knight’s spine.

“So, those heroes, you’ve been helping them right?”

The Knight, after some hesitation, nodded. “Yes, but let me-”

“So that’d be like, forty-something heroes ago, huh?”

This time, The Knight did not respond. He had a feeling that Quakemaster wasn’t expecting him to.

The Knight merely watched as, slowly, a form of recognition and realisation emerged on Quakemaster’s face.

“Huh, heh heh. Yeah, that makes lots of sense now. I really thought I had ‘em then.”

The Knight stared at him, worried. “Quakemaster...do you truly find this funny?”

“No, sir.” Quakemaster raised a hand to his head, still chuckling. “But I figured laughing’s the best way to keep from..”

The Knight jumped as he realised that his desk had begun to melt, turning to molten magma. Quakemaster himself was shifting as well, growing larger and larger-

“No, I guess that’s not working at all,” Quakemaster mused.

The Knight paled.

 

* * *

 

Peridot grunted as the entire building shook. Desperately, she lunged forward to grab hold of the doorway, steadying herself. She was vaguely aware of the others doing similar motions to her own. After what seemed like an eternity, the shaking stopped.

“What was that?” Carrot asked aloud the question that had been brewing in all of their minds.

Peridot didn’t respond. Instead, she raced to her wand, taking a running leap.

“Come on, Cucumber. We need to find him. Now.”

 

* * *

 

Faster than The Knight would have thought possible, Quakemaster had already begun to take over most of the office.

The Knight was sweating beneath his cloak, yet his blood ran cold.

“Quakemaster, enough of this!” 

“I’ve been following your orders,” Quakemaster grumbled, “for long enough now, Boss. As a matter of fact, I still am! Isn’t this what you made me for?”

As a piece of Quakemaster flowed too close for comfort, The Knight gripped his scythe. Its blade turned blue and with it, he drew a circle around himself. As Quakemaster started to flow across the line, it flared, forcing Quakemaster to hiss and retreat.

“Quakemaster, please. It’s about Steve.”

 

* * *

 

“WHOA!”

Cucumber tightened his hold around Peridot’s waist, his eyes wide as she zoomed through hallway after hallway, up flights of stairs and down. 

“There’s a fork ahead,” she warned.

After having gone through enough forks, Cucumber knew exactly what to do. He released his hold, grabbing onto the back of the wand instead. Simultaneously, he raised his own wand, brightening its glow. The light revealed footprints that veered off to the left.

Peridot, who would’ve no doubt have seen the very bright and obvious glow, took a sharp turn.

“I think I’m going to throw up,” Cucumber gagged after it was done.

“If you do that, I am throwing you off Basaltbury,” Peridot snapped. 

Finally, Peridot skidded to a halt. 

Cucumber, gratefully, rolled off the wand. “Oh thank god, solid ground.”

“Get up, Cucumber. We got things to do.” Peridot gave the doors a solid push, yet it did not budge.

“What the-?” Peridot tried again with an even firmer push.

It still did not budge.

Cucumber rolled to his feet, his wand gripped tightly in his hand. Peridot glanced back at him, a silent understanding passing through them.

Peridot fired a spell, turning the double-doors into peridot. Afterwards, Cucumber shot a blast of magic, shattering the doors into tiny peridot pieces.

What they saw made all rational thought skid to a stop.

* * *

 

The Knight gaped as the doors shattered.

What were they doing here?

Peridot and Cucumber didn’t seem to notice him yet, there were too busy gaping at the massive hunk of lava that was Quakemaster.

Unfortunately, The Knight wasn’t the only one who noticed the new arrivals.

Quakemaster turned with a growl strong enough to shake the building.

The Knight snapped out of his trance. He raised his scythe above his head, slamming against the floor. Water flowed from where he struck and he heard the telltale hissing sound as the water came in contact with the magma.

Fortunately, it worked. Quakemaster turned his attention back to The Knight.

Unfortunately, The Knight didn’t think this through.

“Uh,” was the only thing he managed to say before Quakemaster grabbed his arm, flinging him towards the other end of the room.

The Knight landed ungracefully on his face. For a few moments, all he could do was lay there, dazed.

 

 

 

Peridot lunged forward to drag The Knight to his feet.

But boy, he was heavy.

Thankfully, Cucumber came up to help her. Occasionally, whenever Quakemaster came too close, his wand glowed a threatening blue and The Disaster Master retreated, hissing.

The Knight finally managed to stand on his own, though he still swayed lightly. Peridot spotted nasty burns on his arm from where Quakemaster had grabbed him.

The Knight whipped his head to glare at them. “ _What_ are you doing here?”

Peridot stared at him, outraged. As she opened her mouth to argue, Quakemaster released another world-shaking growl.

Peridot glared at The Knight in turn. “We’ll talk about this later.”

 

* * *

 

Almond ran through the hallways, promptly colliding with another Dreamsider.

He didn’t even seem to notice, instead just walking around her and continued to run in the direction she had come from. “Master Quake!”

Almond stared at him for a few moments, then raced after him.

 

* * *

 

The Knight swept his scythe in the air, it’s blade glowing a deep blue. “Quakemaster, please. Steve aims to end the world.”

Beside him, Quakemaster slammed a chunk of magma that still had the vague form of a hand. “Let him. Let him take all of you to hell. It’s what this wretched world deserves.”

The Knight glanced beside him at the young witch, fending off Quakemaster’s persistently flowing magma by turning them to peridot. Unfortunately, the peridot just melted; though it did manage to slow him down. 

Cucumber had, unfortunately, been separated from them. 

Though he seemed to be holding on fine, aggressively waving his wand around in circles.

“I can’t let him do that, Quakemaster.” The Knight replied, looking up at the melting and shifting face of his servant. “I need your help.”

 

* * *

 

Sir Carrot leapt back as a very sharply dressed Dreamsider nearly ran over his toes.

“What-?” He started to say but yelped in pain when Almond did run over his toes.

“Whoops. Sorry! Come on!” She blurted out in quick succession then raced after the Dreamsider.

Sir Carrot glanced back at the others, who all met them with equally confused looks. Nautilus met his eyes, then, in a mutual agreement, raced after them.

 

* * *

 

Quakemaster was so surprised he laughed.

“You expect me to help you? After what you’ve put me - put us through?” He snarled, all humour expelled.

“It was more of a wish, to be exact,” The Knight responded.

“We trusted you, Boss.” 

The Knight flinched. 

“We did everything for you, again and again and again…”

Quakemaster drew himself in, like a cat preparing to pounce. “Turns out you’ve never been on our side after all.”

 

The Knight stared at the receding flow of magma.

What was happening?

Cucumber joined them, his path clear. Brandishing his wand, he narrowed his eyes at the magma. “Something’s up,” he said.

The Knight didn’t respond; he narrowed his eyes up at Quakemaster, trying to guess what was going on in his head this time. He ran through every routine and move he had ever taught The Disaster Master and when he finally reached one that made sense, his magic flared.

Instantly, The Knight turned, the blade of his scythe glowing a deep purple.

Quakemaster grinned as he sent a massive wave of magma hurtling towards The Heroes.

 

* * *

 

Almond skidded to a stop, her jaw hanging open.

This was not what she had in mind when they said, ‘relatively large crusty lava man’.

This was more ‘giant evil lava blob of terror and heat’.

A chill ran its fingers along Almond’s spine.

Where was Cucumber?

“Cuco!” She screamed. “Cuco where are you?!”

The lack of response terrified her.

“No no no no.” Not willing to accept that, Almond unsheathed her sword.

“There’s no point.”

She turned her head. The Dreamsider she had been following earlier was standing beside her. He wore a weird jester’s mask, but even though she could not see his eyes, she could tell he was looking at her.

“What..?”

This time, he turned fully to face her. “I saw what happened. Master Quake submerged them. Fully.”

She stared at him, then turned her head to face the room. The weird lava blob of terror had a satisfied smirk on its weird evil lava face.

“No..” She glared at Mr Jester Face. “I refuse to believe that.”

Jester Face just stared at her, before shrugging. “Suit yourself.”

“Almond!”

Almond turned just as Sir Carrot and the others caught up to her. The two newbies were there as well, carrying the princess between them.

“What happened?” One of them asked, shifting their grip.

Almond could only stare in return, not knowing how to respond.

“Almond?” Parfait stared at her. “Where are they?”

Just then, Quakemaster rumbled.

 

* * *

 

Quakemaster frowned at the odd bubble in his magma. No matter how he flowed, that bubble remained.

He was just about to do the equivalent of standing on it when it exploded. But instead of shooting out droplets of magma, like how most of his bubbles would do.

It shot out water.

A strong and steady flow of water that turned his magma to crust and threatened to engulf him. Quakemaster roared in pain as his magma cooled.

From the perfect circle of dried magma, The Knight straightened, a new fury lighting his eyes.

“Don’t you dare harm the kids."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will come in two weeks time, similar to this one.  
> In fact, all of the chapters will arrive with a two-week gap. At least, until I finished writing all of the chapters. Then I'll send them in like a hailstorm.  
> Thanks a bunch for your patience.  
> Cheerio!


	16. Chapter 15: Irony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which things cool down, for the moment, and The Knight deals with a little irony.
> 
> Warnings for lots of blood, yet not really any graphic descriptions of gore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm late, yes, I know. I'm sorry.  
> Yes, Cucumber Quest.  
> Once again, I would love any words of advice you'd have for my writing, thank you!

The Knight glared at Quakemaster. Behind him, he could faintly hear Peridot coaxing Cucumber to his feet. He turned his head, giving them a firm stare.

 

“Go.”

 

Peridot dragged Cucumber to his feet, then wrapped his arm around her shoulders, supporting him as they struggled to reach the others.

 

The Knight’s blast of water had been powerful enough that the only part of molten lava left was Quakemaster’s head. The Disaster Master growled, reigniting his flame. Instantly, the temperature rose, more fiercely than it did before. 

 

The Knight gripped his scythe and lunged. As he moved, he swept his scythe around, each movement expelling a burst of water. Quakemaster hissed in a mixture of pain and annoyance as large drops of water collided with his magma. 

 

The Disaster Master sent surge after surge of lava, aiming straight for The Knight. He dodged, occasionally returning the blow with streams of water that sprouted from the blade of his scythe.

 

“You know, you don’t have to pretend no more,” Quakemaster growled, slamming a fiery hand directly in front of The Knight. “We all know you care for nothin’ but yourself.”

 

Quakemaster swiped at him, growling as The Knight rolled under it. The Previous Scourge of Dreamside whipped in place, firing a concentrated shot of water.

 

“Tell me, boss. Did you enjoy watching us suffer?”

 

The Knight was so startled he froze, staring up at him. 

 

“You think,” he said slowly, “that I _enjoyed_ watching you suffer?”

 

Quakemaster shrugged, his movements slightly sluggish. “Why else would you do this to us? After all we’ve done for you.”

 

The Knight stared at him for a few minutes longer. 

 

“Glitchmaster told me to expect change,” Quakemaster said. “She said I didn’t have to be afraid of you anymore.”

 

The Knight flinched. Smirking, Quakemaster took the opportunity to send a surge of magma in his direction. The Knight leapt away, though the unexpected - and very unpleasant - surprise did not allow him to prepare for the landing.

 

The Knight landed on his face, grunting. As he got up, he adjusted his glasses, gripped his scythe and whipped around to face the massive hunk of lava. Through the corner of his eye, he spotted Peridot and Cucumber rejoining the group; Almond giving Cucumber a relieved bear-hug.

 

“I was actually going to give you a chance, Boss.” 

 

The Knight stared at him, eyes wide.

 

“What..?”

 

Quakemaster turned his head. “I thought that maybe, whatever happened to you made you more bearable to deal with. So I wanted to give you a chance.” Quakemaster laughed; a deep, humourless sound that shook the building. “Turns out, you never gave us any chances, so why should I bother?”

 

Quakemaster lunged, snarling. The Knight raised his scythe, it’s blade glowing purple. Quakemaster was left slamming into thin air as The Knight disappeared and reappeared behind him, on the other side of the room.

 

The Knight leaned against the shaft of his weapon, gasping for breath.

 

He wouldn’t be able to hold on for long.

 

“You even had the audacity to ask for my help,” Quakemaster rumbled, turning around.

 

The Knight gestured to himself. “Have you seen me, Quakemaster? I’m weak; I cannot defeat him on my own.”

 

Quakemaster snarled. “So why do you bother? You’ll have to excuse me if I have a hard time believing that The Scourge of Dreamside has _noble_ motives.”

 

A surge of annoyance flared in him. “It’s because I cannot afford to see you die.”

 

Quakemaster paused. “What..?”

 

The Knight gripped his scythe, taking a step forward. “You. _You_ have the audacity to assume that not a day goes by that I don’t regret what I’ve done to Mistmaster. How dare you assume that I don’t wish I didn’t have to pretend over and over for _ninety-nine_ cycles.” 

 

The Knight glared at him.

 

“How dare you assume that what I’ve done isn’t to ensure _your own_ survival.”

 

Quakemaster stared at him, an odd look in his eyes. Idly, The Knight wondered if something was on his face.

 

Then it clicked. The Knight raised a hand to his face, wiping the tears that yet again flowed from his eyes.

 

After he was done, he looked up, meeting Quakemaster’s eyes. 

 

“I’m sorry, Quakemaster,” he said, his voice barely louder than a whisper. “I should have come clean hundreds of years ago, I see that now.”

 

Quakemaster stared at him, then glanced away. “‘Sorry’ doesn’t fix what you’ve done.”

 

The Knight dropped his gaze, staring at the ground. “Maybe not.” He took a step forward, hoping to gain a reaction from The Disaster Master. 

 

Fortunately, it worked. Quakemaster looked up.

 

The Knight banished his scythe back to his abyss, raising his hands. Quakemaster stared at him, something similar to confusion flashing in his eyes. 

 

“I just ask,” The Knight said, looking straight into his servant’s eyes. “That you give me this shot at redemption. Let me fix what I’ve done, please.”

 

Quakemaster didn’t respond. The Disaster Master just stared at him, while The Knight stared back. A heavy silence filled the room, broken only by the rumbling and hissing of Quakemaster’s magma.

 

“I will…” Quakemaster paused and looked away. The Knight heard him take in a smoke-filled breath before turning back. “I will hold off..killing you until Steve is dealt with.”

 

Relief flooded into him and The Knight nearly sagged to his knees. “Thank-” he started to say.

 

Quakemaster interrupted him, “On one condition. That after this is dealt with, you return Mistmaster back to his original state. I don’t care how you do it, you just do.”

 

The Knight stared at him in silence. Then, he nodded. “I promise.”

 

The entire room seemed to breathe a collective sigh of relief as Quakemaster nodded in turn.

 

* * *

 

Peridot leapt over the receding flow of magma, making a bee-line straight for The Knight. He only had time to turn before she attached herself to his waist.

 

The Knight grunted. “Peridot, Peridot you’re going to break me.”

 

She shoved him away. “Hah! Bold of you to assume that you’re not going to do that first.”

 

The Knight raised his hands, moving them in a ‘calm down’ motion. “I’m not going to die.”

 

She grabbed his hand, pulling them down to gesture enthusiastically at the burns on his arm.

 

The Knight glanced between her and the burns, then slowly extracted himself from her grip.

 

“Fair point,” he admitted begrudgingly.

 

Peridot rolled her eyes.

 

The sound of footsteps behind her made her tense. Gripping her wand, she turned, preparing a glare. She relaxed when she saw that it was just the newbies.

 

What were their names again?

 

One of them gave The Knight a steady gaze. Then she snorted, “‘A hunch’, hardy har. Very funny.”

 

The Knight shrugged. “I wouldn’t want you to be that scared.”

 

“I wasn’t-!”

 

The Crystal Knight gave a very enthusiastic argument that she was never scared and only managed to make Peridot certain of the opposite. As she rolled her eyes, Peridot spotted the other one shifting her grip on the princess.

 

Peridot nearly flinched as she spotted the greying spots on her face.

 

Fortunately, she wasn’t the only one who noticed. The Knight stared at the princess for some time, then turned his head to give Quakemaster a look.

 

The Disaster Master, while he had begun to shift back into his original form, has yet to gain a true and solid form. He returned The Knight’s gaze, then sighed.

 

Peridot nearly jumped as she heard a deep and desperate gasp for air behind her. She turned, watching as Princess Ametrine coughed and sputtered.

 

* * *

 

“What….what?” Her Highness stammered, still breathing heavily.

 

She felt steady hands grab her shoulders, keeping her upright. “Your Highness?” They asked, their voice carrying worrying undertones.

 

“An-Andesite?

 

“Yes, your highness. It’s me.”

 

Princess Ametrine stared at her for a few moments, nearly crying in relief. Her Highness sighed as she spotted the other one standing not too far away. 

 

“Thank god you made it out too, Chert.” The Princess laughed,  overcome. She looked around, “Where are-?”

 

As soon as her eyes landed on Quakemaster, Ametrine tensed. The Disaster Master simply returned her gaze, unfazed by the daggers she glared. In fact, he actually looked amused.

 

Quakemaster gave a pointed glance to something beside him. Ametrine struggled to clear her vision fast enough but regretted it as soon she comprehended what she saw.

 

The Nightmare Knight gave her an amused look as she paled.

 

“What..”

 

Besides her, Andesite chuckled. “It’s a long story, your highness. I think it’s actually better if we head home now.”

 

Chert nodded. “I just hope Queen Sapphire doesn’t execute us or something.”

 

* * *

 

As The Knight gave her a worried look, Chert raised her hands and chuckled. “I’m joking! Unless..”

 

Andesite swatted her lightly. “Oh shush.”

 

The two turned away, bickering lightly. Chert wrapped the princess’ arm around her shoulders, supporting her weight. Even from the distance, The Knight could tell they were effectively dodging Her Highness’s questions about what had just happened.

 

The Knight sighed. 

 

That's something he'd also like to know.

 

Peridot glanced at him and he met her gaze.

 

“If you die..” she warned, letting the threat fall to his imagination.

 

The Knight snorted lightly. “Trust me, dying is the last thing I’ll do.”

 

Peridot nodded, reassured. The Young Witch jogged to join the others, turning an odd shade of red as Almond enveloped her in another bear-hug. The Knight cleaned his glasses with the fabric of his cloak, readjusting them on his face. 

 

He could feel the weight of Quakemaster’s gaze beside him. The Knight looked up, a silent question in his eyes. After a few moments, The Disaster Master looked away,

 

“Obsidian, c’mere a sec.”

 

Obsidian, the Dreamsider that had led him to Quakemaster’s office, walked up. “Master Quake?”

 

Quakemaster gave The Knight another quick glance. Slowly, almost tenderly, The Disaster Master reached forward, grabbing Obsidian’s Jester’s-Mask in his fingers. As he started to pull away, Obsidian’s hands grabbed at Quakemaster’s wrist.

 

The reassuring nod Quakemaster gave Obsidian was so subtle, it would’ve been missed by anyone who was not staring up at him.

 

But The Knight was.

 

He looked back in time to see Obsidian’s grip relax, allowing his mask to be removed. The fully Dreamsider face didn’t startle him; it was the combined looks of defiance and anxiety coming from Quakemaster and Obsidian respectively.

 

The Knight tilted his head. “What?”

 

“This is Obsidian. He’s...heh- he’s a _favoured_ of mine, you could say.”

 

The Knight narrowed his eyes, confused. He glanced between Quakemaster and Obsidian, watching as the latter fidgeted. 

 

Finally, it dawned on him.

 

“Ah..” The Knight nodded. “I see.”

 

The silence stretched on for a few moments before Obsidian, his voice shaking slightly, asked, “You’re..you’re not upset?”

 

The Knight faced him, his chest squeezing slightly. “You thought I would be...upset?”

 

Their silence was answer enough. The Knight felt guilt constricting his mortal airway.

 

“No,” he said softly. “I’m not upset.”

 

The look of relief on their faces - subtle for Quakemaster, overjoyed for Obsidian - made him feel a lot of things.

 

He didn’t know how to describe them yet.

 

Quakemaster rested a hand on Obsidian’s shoulder. “A few words, Obsidian.”

 

“Of course.” 

 

They walked away, already beginning to speak in hushed voices.

 

The joy he heard in Quakemaster’s would’ve made him smile if it didn’t also make him want to cry.

 

The Knight narrowed his eyes as he turned away. He had done a lot of crying recently.

 

* * *

 

The Knight looked on, impressed at the passenger jet that stood a few distances away from them.

 

“I don’t remember giving you a jet.” The Knight stared at Quakemaster as he spoke.

 

The Disaster Master beside him shrugged. “Bought it somewhere. I thought of usin’ it to visit Mistmaster on occasion. After _that_ happened, it’s just been around somewhere.”

 

The Knight looked away, staring at the ground. He could feel Quakemaster’s gaze on him, yet he couldn’t bring himself to look up.

 

The ‘soft’ tap on his shoulder convinced him enough.

 

“You said,” Quakemaster rumbled as The Knight rubbed at his sore shoulder. “that what you’ve done...was for our safety?”

 

The Knight stared at him, then simply nodded as his words left him.

 

“Did you mean any of it?”

 

He narrowed his eyes at The Disaster Master in confusion. Then as the realization dawned on him, he sighed and stared ahead.

 

“I meant every word of it,” he said, hoping he sounded solemn enough to finally make Quakemaster believe him.

 

If it worked, The Disaster Master gave no sign of it. Instead, he seemed quite distracted by the sudden blur that raced past him.

 

It took him a while to digest the high-speed moving browns, but eventually, he saw that it was The Hero’s sister, Almond. The streak of lime-green that followed after was unmistakable.

 

After a few seconds, Cucumber and Nautilus followed behind, moving at a more reasonable pace. Yet the excitement in their stride was evident still.

 

“-HUGE!” Almond was saying, widening her arms in imitation of the plane. The Knight chuckled softly.

 

The plane was, in fact, huge. The Knight guessed that it was large enough to fit three Quakemasters with a couple of Obsidians in between them.

 

“Master Quake!” Speak of the devil, Obsidian was waving as he jogged over. “The plane is ready.”

 

Quakemaster smiled. “Thanks, love.”

 

The absolute delight on Obsidian’s face was far too bright for The Knight to bear. He turned away, leaving the two to talk. 

As he got closer, he noticed - with approval - the intricate designs that decorated the plane’s body and wings. Per the Quakemaster theme, the main colour of it was black, with red-to-yellow markings here and there.

 

He supposed all that money Quakemaster had been collecting had to go somewhere.

 

The Knight found himself standing next to Princess Nautilus. He didn’t even have to look to tell that Her Highness was fidgeting, turning the RIS in her hands.

 

The Knight glanced down. “Is something wrong, your highness?”

 

Nautilus didn’t jump this time, she was far too anxious to have not noticed him. “I’ve...I’ve always wanted to go to the Sky Kingdom. It looked so pretty.” She glanced away from the plane. “But now that I’m here…”

 

The Knight nodded in understanding. “Nervous?”

 

Tentatively, Nautilus faced him, nodding.

 

The Knight rested a soft hand on her shoulder. “I wouldn’t worry too much. The people of the Sky Kingdom are very friendly. It’s simply difficult to strike a full conversation with someone who’s head is in the clouds.”

 

Nautilus nodded, then she frowned. When she glanced up, seeing The Knight’s mischievous glint in his eyes made her smile, then laugh.

 

“That was very clever, Sir Nightmare.” She giggled.

 

“Why, thank you.”

 

“Alright, listen up.”

 

Quakemaster’s call brought Bunnypeople from all sides of the plane. Almond and Peridot had, oddly, smudges of black on their fingers.

 

The Knight narrowed his eyes at them.

 

He was going to have to tell them to wash their hands after they boarded.

 

“It takes the rest of the night to get to the Sky Kingdom.” Quakemaster fixed his molten gaze on him. “Which I’m guessin’ is where we’re going.”

 

At The Knight’s confirming nod, Quakemaster continued. “The plane has autopilot, so don’t be freaking out on me. And please, don’t smudge up my plane.”

 

The confused glances Almond and Peridot gave each other made everyone laugh, the atmosphere lightening up.

 

One by one, they climbed the extendable staircase, entering the aircraft. As The Knight walked in, he finally saw what the gasps of awe were directed at.

 

The plane was, actually, large enough to accommodate Quakemaster’s size, along with possibly a few hundred Bunnypeople. The interior wasn’t arranged like a regular plane; it was actually made to look like the interior of a home. A few chairs - with seat-belts, The Knight noticed - were arranged in a living-room fashion. At the front end of the plane was a door that he presumed to lead to the cockpit. On the walls on either side of the door were counters and - The Knight noticed with glee - an oven. 

 

The opposite end lead towards a hallway, doors lining each of the walls. He guessed they were beds there.

 

A few more chairs decorated the area and, as they seated themselves, The Knight noticed that there were the exact amount for all of them.

 

He chuckled fondly. That sounded like Quakemaster.

 

The Disaster Master himself had disappeared into the cockpit, presumably to activate that auto-pilot he had talked about. The Knight seated himself between Sir Carrot and Parfait, who had been glancing at each other so awkwardly it hurt just as much as watching Quakemaster and Obsidian.

 

The Knight called out repeatedly for the kids to sit down. When they finally did settle down - seated around the chairs in a circular fashion - they struggled against their seatbelts to look around still. The Knight noticed - with a note of fondness - how Cucumber’s face lit up at the bookshelves that were placed.

 

Reminded him of Glitchmaster.

 

The plane moved and he dug his fingers into the armrests, eyes wide. The kids, however, were more than excited, calling to each other as they flew higher.

 

“Look! There’s Obsidian! Let’s wave back!”

 

“Isn’t that Princess Amertine?”

 

“Where, Cuco?”

 

“Oh! I see them, they’re really small.”

 

“Where are they going?”

 

The Knight let their calls wash over him, letting his breathing slow down. By the time Quakemaster walked out of the cockpit, The Knight was quite proud of how he managed to stop himself from freaking out.

 

Quakemaster gave him an amused look. “You okay there, boss?”

 

The Knight glanced at him, following The Disaster Master’s pointed glance to his clenched fingers. He unclenched them, ignoring the pangs of embarrassment. 

 

“Whatever do you speak of, Quakemaster?” The Knight asked, innocently.

 

Quakemaster chuckled, settling himself in the largest seat which they had - correctly - guessed that it was reserved for himself.

 

“Mister Quake!”

 

Quakemaster shifted his gaze to the kids, a look of surprise on his face. Almond was pushing herself against her seatbelt as she tried to gain his attention.

 

“Can we walk around now?” She asked, pure excitement in her tone.

 

“...sure, knock yourself out.”

 

Instantly, they unbuckled themselves from their seats, checking out the things around them. Cucumber headed straight for the books, closely followed by Nautilus. Peridot and Almond raced each other to claim rooms.

 

“The biggest one is mine.” Quakemaster reminded them, though the laughter was clear in his voice.

 

The Knight rolled his eyes fondly.

 

Parfait also unbuckled herself, though instead of going to explore, she stood next to The Knight’s seat.

 

“Sir Nightmare, I hardly believe you emerged from that battle without a scratch,” she chided.

 

The Knight glanced to his arm, where flakes of skin curled among themselves.

 

“You could say that,” he mused.

 

Sir Carrot wrinkled his nose, disgust and worry mashing together. “How are you not writhing in pain?”

 

The Knight shrugged. “It mostly just feels numb.”

 

“That’s not a good sign,” Parfait said, her eyes glued to the burn on his arm.

 

“Princess is right,” Quakemaster rumbled, stretching in his seat. “That’s a third-degree burn all right.” The Disaster Master met her eyes, then jerked his head to the cockpit. “There’s a first aid kit in there.”

 

As Parfait disappeared through the doors, The Knight gave him a look. “Why do you have a first aid kit?”

 

Quakemaster shrugged. “Came with the set.”

 

Parfait emerged, carrying a small white box in her hands. She placed it on one of the coffee tables that were screwed to the floor, rummaging through the contents until she found an ointment and some bandages.

 

As soon as Parfait’s ointment-dipped fingers came in contact with the burn wound, The Knight hissed in pain and jerked his arm back. Parfait jumped slightly, then just scowled at him.

 

“Give me your ‘and, Sir Nightmare,” she commanded.

 

“No, I don’t think I will,” The Knight replied.

 

They stared at each other in a silent battle of wits, waiting for the other to back down. Finally, Parfait sighed and walked away, leaving The Knight to relax.

 

Until she returned with some rope, with Almond and Peridot following closely behind.

 

* * *

 

The Knight scowled at the bandages wrapped around his arm, his scowl deepening as Parfait and the kids exploded in yet another fit of barely controlled laughter. Even Sir Carrot and Quakemaster chuckled to themselves at his suffering.

 

The Knight had attempted to save himself by placing the chair in between them, but that only succeeded in leading himself into an ambush when Cucumber and Nautilus jumped him from behind.

 

He rolled his eyes, getting up from his seat. In answer to Peridot’s questioning gaze, he just gestured vaguely to one of the rooms, hoping that his exhausted expression was enough to explain.

 

Fortunately, it was. The Knight was left to find a room that didn’t seem messed up in peace. Finally, he settled on one that seemed the least messy, lying down on the soft bed with such relief he thought he died and went to heaven.

 

The Knight snorted at himself. He would definitely not go to heaven if he died.

 

With that happy thought, The Knight drifted to sleep.

 

* * *

 

**_He stood amongst a massacre._ **

 

**_Dead bodies were strewn across the area, the smell of blood infecting the air. He glanced at them, horror seizing him as he recognised the corpses of Sir Carrot, Cordelia, The Hero, Parfait, The Ripple Princess._ **

**_His friends._ **

**_Their blood lapped at his feet, his cloak, threatening to swallow him up and drown him in a tide of red._ **

 

**_“Gramps?”_ **

 

**_He turned around to see Peridot, looking at him with fear in her eyes. She was staring at his feet, and when he glanced down, his throat tightened at the sight of The Hero’s sister on the ground._ **

 

**_Dead._ **

 

**_Peridot’s eyes flicked to his face, hunching in on herself in fear. “What have you done?”_ **

 

**_He stuttered, “I-I didn’t-”_ **

 

**_“You did! You killed her, you killed everyone! You have their blood on your hands!” she cried out, tears running down her face._ **

 

**_“I-” The Knight glanced down. He did have blood on his hands. it coated nearly every inch of him, in fact. He gaped at himself. “I-I didn’t mean to-”_ **

 

**_A sound startled him and he whipped around. His eyes found a figure amongst it all, arms stretched wide in a welcoming gesture._ **

 

**_“Hey bro,” Steve greeted him, grinning._ **

 

**_“Steve?” he blinked around him, confused. His magic tugged at him, making him flick his gaze back to the Immortal in front of him. Steve held a sword in his hands, it’s feathery hilt swaying softly as he moved._ **

 

**_“Too slow, brother,” Steve smirked. He raised the sword above his head, swinging it in his direction. His eyes widened as the arc of magic rushed towards him. Instinctively, he tried to shield his head with his hands._ **

 

**_It passed through him harmlessly._ **

 

**_Realization struck at him with a jolt, he turned, just in time to see-_ **

 

**_With a cry, Peridot was knocked off her feet, thrown into the darkness at the edge of his vision._ **

 

**_“No!” He cried out, running to her._ **

 

**_Before he had gotten far, something started holding him back. His knees felt weak, wave after wave of numbing helplessness dragging him down._ **

**_But Peridot’s cries had begun to fade. He had to get to her. Sluggishly, as if he were moving through thick mud, he began to move forward._ **

**_Soon, he found his rhythm, moving forward at the quickest speed possible._ **

**_Then stopped entirely._ **

**_He glanced down at the strings wrapped around his arms. The Knight turned, his breath quickening as he was met with his own Disaster Masters. They all looked down on him with disappointment, Glitchmaster nearly vibrating danger._ **

 

 **_“_ ** TraItor **_,” she hissed._ **

 

**_“N-no, wait-” he desperately tried to explain, but cracks had begun to spread from beneath him. With a wail, he fell amongst them into the empty abyss that yawned beneath them._ **

 

* * *

 

The Knight jolted upright, crying out. His vision blurred and he desperately tried to clear it, pushing himself back the wall.

He gasped for air, wheezing and whimpering. Finally, after a few moments, he was able to form coherent thoughts again.

 

He was here. In the plane. Quakemaster, Peridot, Parfait, Cucumber, they were all outside.

 

Everything was fine.

 

It took him a while, but finally, he managed to stop breathing so heavily.

 

The Knight groaned, rubbing the area where his nose would be.

 

Slowly, shakily, The Knight walked over to the door, pushing it open.

 

As he emerged into the common area, the reaction of the others confirmed that he looked as bad as he felt.

The Knight straightened, regaining a form of his composure.

Or so he had hoped.

 

* * *

 

Quakemaster could only gape as The Knight took the sixth cupcake tray out of the oven.

 

The boss baked?

 

The Witch girl - Peridot, The Boss had said - walked up as soon as The Knight started mixing. From where he sat, he could hear faint snippets of ‘Are you okay?’ and ‘Stop asking’ from The Witch and The Knight respectively.

 

It seemed like Peridot still hadn't gotten her answer. Quakemaster could tell by the unsatisfied look on her face.

The moment The Knight walked out of his room, everyone could tell something was wrong.

 

It wasn’t anything physical. He looked fine. It was the haunted look in his eyes, the hunched in form as he walked. 

 

If Quakemaster didn’t know any better, he would’ve guessed The Knight had a nightmare.

 

But that was impossible. Not to mention incredibly ironic.

 

By the time The Knight finished his seventh tray, The Kids had already seated themselves. They crowded on the barstools, swinging their legs like the youngsters they were.

 

By the time he finished his eighth tray, The Princess and the Doughnut Knight had joined them.

 

By the time The Knight finished his ninth, Quakemster got up to see what the fuss was all about.

 

By the time The Knight finished his tenth, the team was stealing cupcakes from each other. Quakemaster himself was wallowing in pride as Ripple princess - Nautilus - interrogated everyone on her missing cupcake, oblivious to the light frosting on his fingers.

 

Fortunately, it was also by the tenth tray did The Knight finally start to relax. He, at the very least, had stopped adding excessive amounts of sugar to the mix.

 

Quakemaster didn’t know whether he felt relieved or disappointed.

 

As The Knight finished his twelfth tray, Quakemaster rumbled;

“I didn’t know you had such an impressive hobby, boss.”

 

The Knight chuckled. “Is that a compliment?”

 

Quakemaster scowled. He was about to snap back a comeback, but the cockpit gave a loud beep.

 

* * *

 

Peridot gazed at The Knight.

 

He seemed to be okay. He didn’t shake as he mixed the batter, or pace the area while he waited for it to bake. Even his banter with Quakemaster seemed to be normal, cheerful even.

 

Peridot relaxed. So he was okay _now_.

 

But he definitely wasn’t okay then. It was as clear as day. As clear as that his cupcakes were the best thing ever baked.

She glanced sideways at Almond, who was munching away at her tenth cupcake. The others didn’t seem to be as worried as she was. Perhaps she was just over-thinking things.

 

Then her memory flashed to the look The Knight had given her. When she had climbed up the barstool to ask if he was okay.

 

He looked scared. 

 

Peridot rubbed at her eyes. 

 

Quakemaster walked out of the cockpit. Peridot glanced up, blinking at his solemn expression.

 

“We’re here.”

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

_Oneiros snarled in frustration._

_Tassos gave him an amused glance. “What? Did you think it would be easy?”_

_He merely glared at him, then refocused on his hands. No matter how he tried he couldn’t seem to manifest a good enough projection of the weapon he wanted._

_His mood soured even more as Deimos gave a triumphant shout._

_Oneiros glanced sideways as his brother brandished a sword._

_“Nice work,” Tassos praised. “That’ll help you in your magic capabilities.”_

_Brother beamed, nearly giggling. “Aw Heck YEAH!”_

_Oneiros scowled, glaring at his hands. The Young Immortal tried to follow Tassos’ steps; Focus, will for the weapon to appear, and it will. Sounded simple enough._

_And if_ **_brother_ ** _could do it, so could he._

_Oneiros narrowed his eyes at the palms. The light of his eyes reflected back at him so he had the strangest sensation of glaring at himself._

_“Do you need help?”_

_Oneiros nearly jumped. He snarled, “No! I’m perfectly fine of doing it on my own and I don’t need your help.”_

_Deimos raised his hands in a defensive motion, looking dejected._

_Oneiros glared at him for a few moments more before he was struck with a pang of guilt. He hung his head._

_“Sorry, brother,” Oneiros mumbled. “I’m just really frustrated.”_

_Deimos didn’t say anything for a while and Oneiros panicked internally. Did he go too far? Was brother going to hate him now? He didn’t mean to snap, he really didn’t._

_Oneiros nearly sighed aloud in relief when Deimos said; “It’s okay. I know you are.”_

_Oneiros stared back at him, soaking in the reassuring smile Brother had for him._

_Sometimes, he felt that he really didn’t deserve to have Brother in his life._

_“Hey, you wanna know how I did it?” Deimos asked._

_Oneiros forced down feelings of spite. “Yeah?”_

_Deimos beamed. “Alright, so the trick is to not imagine the weapon as, ya know, a weapon. You gotta think of it as the thing you wanna use it for.” Deimos placed a hand on his own chest. “I imagined hitting things, so I got a sword.”_

_Oneiros snorted a laugh. “I would imagine you would imagine hitting things.”_

_“Yep.”_

_Oneiros glanced back down at his hands._

_What did he want to use it for?_

_The Young Immortal recalled what Tassos had said, in that deserted world a twenty or thirty decades ago. Them being_ **_fear_ ** _._

_He recalled what Brother had said, about him preferring to scare people more than hit them._

_Finally, he recalled what the other Immortals had said when they first came out of The Space._

_That Brother was weak._

_‘_ **_I want to protect him,_ ** _’ Oneiros thought. **'Maybe add in some scare points, if you can.'** He paused. **'Please, and thank you** **.'** _

_As soon as the thought finished in his head, Oneiros could catch the faint outline of a shaft._

_His eyes widened as a scythe solidified in his hands._

_“Woah…” He traced his fingers along the shaft, the blade. Even he - an immortal - could tell that the blade was wickedly sharp._

_Excitedly, he turned to face Deimos, expecting to see his own excitement reflected back at him._

_He faltered when he saw Brother staring at the scythe with an unreadable expression._

_The excitement died when he thought he saw anger in the fringes of Brother’s smile._

_Eventually, Deimos realised that he was being stared at._

_“Wow, that’s super cool, bro.”_

_Oneiros stared at him for a few moments. “Yeah..it really is.”_

_The training room was enveloped in uncomfortable silence._

_Tassos broke it, finally, as he said; “Alright. That’s enough for today. Go do whatever you usually do.”_

_What they would_ **_usually_ ** _do was go to the common room and read together. Well, Brother would read. He'd sit there and watch him read, or whine about how boring it was watching him read._

_As Oneiros eyed his brother, the anger evident in the way Brother left the room, he guessed that they wouldn’t be doing that this evening._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeay, Mistmaster is coming.  
> Whoo, my sad cloud boi.  
> Whoo.


	17. Chapter 16: Welcome to the Sky Kingdom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which The Knight tries to figure out what to do.  
> And there's a tiny language barrier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hell yeah, Cucumber Quest.  
> As always, constructive criticisms and comments are always appreciated!

The Knight glanced out of the many windows that lined the plane walls. They flew through the dark-blue clouds. Occasionally, they would clear enough so that he could see Sky Kingdom's Clock Tower. He eyed it for a few moments, then turned his head.

 

**The Knight materialised at the top of the Clock Tower. He nearly lost his resolve as he beheld the shaking and shivering mass of cloud.**

 

**“It’s been too long, Mistmaster.”**

 

“-oss? Boss!”

 

The Knight jumped slightly. Quakemaster gave him a narrowed glare. 

 

“Come on, we’re gatherin’ outside.”

 

He could only stare at The Disaster Master for a few moments. He nodded. “I will be there.”

 

Quakemaster’s gaze softened, but he didn’t say anything. The Knight watched as The Disaster Master lumbered off. He sighed, dropping the rag he had been holding.

 

_ Get yourself together, _ he commanded.  _ You have time for grief later. _

 

With that cheery note, The Knight walked outside.

 

* * *

 

For a few moments, after she had walked outside, the people around her turned static. Nautilus gaped at the massively tall buildings of the Sky Kingdom, in awe. 

 

Back home, the tallest building would be one of the spires of her castle. But here, it seemed like everyone had their own _personal_ spires. It was beautiful.

Nautilus lifted her head and stood on her toes. Her previous exhaustion was completely forgotten as she tried to spot the top. 

Her efforts were in vain.

 

“Nautilus!”

 

The Princess jumped. “wAH!”

 

Almond crossed her arms. “What gives? I called your name like tw- thre- more than once!”

 

Nautilus chuckled, embarrassment squeezing her chest. “Sorry, I was taken aback by the view.”

 

Almond’s gaze softened and she shrugged. “Yeah, guess it is really pretty. But Fiery Lava Man wants to discuss the next course of action and he looks really impatient.”

 

Nautilus glanced to the ‘Fiery Lava Man’ in question. Quakemaster had his arms crossed, the smoke wafting out of his mouth making it difficult to see his eyes. As she stared, The Knight came up, standing beside him. Even from the distance, The Ripple Princess could see Quakemaster tensing. 

She supposed he hadn’t taken well to the news of The Knight’s betrayal. She supposed no one would, especially when they were betrayed by someone they could trust.

 

Nautilus mused; she supposed ‘trust’ wasn’t a good word to describe The Knight’s previous relation with The Disaster Masters. She recalled him muttering faintly about ‘all for nothing’ and ‘never forget’ when she had asked about them.

 

“Nautie! You’re spacing out again.”

 

She turned her gaze to Almond, an apologetic look on her face. “Please don’t call me ‘Nautie’ ever again.”

 

* * *

 

Cucumber eyed his sister, a tired, but amused half-smile on his face. He could tell that Almond was just as amazed, despite her supposed annoyance. No one was truly at fault here.

 

The Sky Kingdom truly was beautiful.

 

Quakemaster's plane had landed in the forest. They were far away enough to avoid unwanted attention but close enough to reach the city in a few minutes. They emerged in what seemed to be a massive square, understandably empty. They were here in the middle of the night, after all. 

 

The architecture was made to look graceful. It spiralled upwards in an attempt to reach even further into the sky. But it also, somehow, managed to look sturdy and timeless. The combination of metal and glass made him feel like he went a few decades in time. 

 

What he loved most about this was how planned it was. He knew for a fact that designing the Sky Kingdom took almost as long as it had for the actual building.

 

It was also the very kingdom he was supposed to be in if it wasn’t for the quest.

 

“Jeez, Nerd. Stop gawking already.”

 

Cucumber turned and gestured to the sight as a whole. “But! It’s! So! Pretty!”

 

Peridot snickered, though not in an unkind way. “Yeah, yeah. We all have eyes.”

 

Despite himself, Cucumber grinned. “Don’t you just love it? Did you know that the entire time it took to plan-”

 

“Hey, you guys gonna goggle all day or pay attention to the plan?”

 

* * *

 

The Knight chuckled lightly. “You can hardly blame them, it must be their first time here.”

 

Almond gave him an odd look. “Well, yeah. But I’m sleepy and I wanna get this over with.”

 

He flicked his gaze to the young Dreamsider. Just as he was about to give a stinging reply, Peridot skidded to a halt beside him.

 

“I-” she panted, trying to catch her breath. The Knight gave her a sympathetic glance that she waved off. “I’m fine. I just wanted to say-”

 

The young witch inhaled deeply. “Shut up, Almond.”

 

Almond placed a hand on her chest. “That hurts.”

 

“Can we please continue?” Sir Carrot flicked his gaze between the two girls. “I believe Mister Quake was about to say something.”

 

“Thanks, Carrot. Just Quake is fine, too.” The Disaster Master in question waved a dismissing hand. “The Sky Kingdom actually looks dull compared ta’ how it would usually look like.”

 

“‘Dull’?” Cucumber half-shrieked.

 

“Yep. All thanks to a very certain decision one of us made.”

 

The Knight glanced away. “Atop Sky Kingdom’s Clock Tower...that’s where Mistmaster would be.”

 

The Knight forced himself to meet Quake’s questioning gaze. “How do you know?” The Disaster Master asked him.

 

**“Where will you be making your base?”**

 

**Mistmaster glanced to the Clock Tower, a half-smile on his face. “I liked the view up there.”**

 

“...I visit, on occasion.”

 

Quakemaster stared at him. The Knight, stupidly, decided to try and ignore him. 

It did not work. Not in the slightest.

 

Finally, Parfait cleared her throat. The Knight could not help but give her a thankful glance. “Per’aps we should rest, and plan tomorrow?”

 

He tilted his head, confused. Something bumped into his side and The Knight jumped slightly. He relaxed when he realized that Peridot had leaned against him.

 

“Sorry,” she mumbled. The Knight stared at her, easily spotting signs of exhaustion on her face. He suspected the long trek to Basaltbury had finally worn her down. Not to mention the excitement of the plane. It was impressive; he didn’t think Peridot could ever be worn down.

 

The Knight looked up, catching similar signs of exhaustion from the others. Cucumber and Almond had begun to lean on each other. Nautilus had her glasses pushed up against her head, rubbing at her eyes.

 

“Okay, time for bed,” The Knight said. He grabbed The Young Witch and flung her over his shoulder.

 

“Ow, Gramps,” she complained. He didn't think much of it. She was already shifting herself into a more comfortable position.

 

Behind him, he could hear Quakemaster give an amused chuckle. “We have one room per person.”

 

The Knight waved his thanks as he stepped into the plane.

 

* * *

 

Quakemaster paused as The Knight stepped in front of him. With how narrow the hallway was, there was no way to step aside him without some squeezing. He tensed as The Knight gave him a narrowed look.

 

“Where will you be going tonight?”

 

The Disaster Master shrugged. “Eh. Walk around the forest, take a look around the square-”

 

“So you’re not going to climb the Clock Tower?”

 

Quakemaster paused. “How did- I mean- Why? Lots of stairs, not a fan of stairs, won’t go somewhere with stairs.”

 

The Knight crossed his arms. “Hm.”

 

After a few moments of staring and wit battling, Quakemaster growled in annoyance. “With all due respect, ‘Boss’,” he started, making sure the emphasise the old title. “I don’t think I have to listen to you anymore.”

 

The Knight blinked. “I-No, no I-” He glanced away. 

 

Somewhere, deep inside, Quakemaster regrets using guilt as a card against his former God-Equivalent. But the rest of him is too impatient to care.

 

The Knight sighed. “No, you’re right. I am unfit to tell you what to do. I can, however, give you advice.

 

Quakemaster glanced up. He had to admit, The Knight was good at making things sound interesting.

 

“If you are going to visit Mistmaster...I strongly advise that you don’t. Whatever you will say, he will not respond. He will act as though you are not even there.” The Knight met his eyes. “If you do visit him, I ask that you be patient with him.”

 

Quakemaster snorted. “Me? Patient with him? I’m pretty sure I should be the one telling you that.”

 

The Knight dropped his gaze, staring at the ground. The hallway was silent for a few moments before Quakemaster scoffed and pushed past him.

 

He really tried to stamp down the feelings of guilt at The Knight’s miserable expression.

 

* * *

 

The Knight sighed as he heard the plane door clicked shut.

 

That could’ve gone better in a multitude of ways.

 

He walked through the hallway, listening to the shuffling sounds of the others in their rooms. One room in particular already had snoring wafting through the crack of the open door. He paused as The Hero came up.

 

“You are sharing rooms? You do not have to do that,” he reminded him.

 

Cucumber glanced away, a sheepish look on his face. “I know. I just...wanna spend the night with Almond.”

 

After a few moments of silence, The Knight shrugged. “There is no reason for me to stop you.”

 

“Why would you stop me?”

 

“I just said there was no reason to.”

 

“Well, yeah. But if there was, what would it be?”

 

The Knight rubbed his face, stifling a groan. “Goodnight, Hero.”

 

The Hero in question shifted his feet. “You’re not going to bed?”

 

The Knight glanced away. “..later, perhaps.”

 

“Oh, okay. Remember not to stay up too late.”

 

“Your concern is unneeded, but appreciated. Thank you.”

 

“Your welcome. Goodnight, Knight.”

 

The Knight paused, giving him an exasperated look.

 

Cucumber snickered lightly. “...I’m not really sorry for that.”

 

“Troublemaker.” The Knight ruffled his hair affectionately. “Get to bed.”

 

“Yes, sir.”

 

The Knight continued down the hell, feeling in a considerably better mood.

 

* * *

 

“Who’s that?”

 

Cucumber jumped lightly. “I thought you were asleep.”

 

Almond crossed her arms as she glared at him. “I was, but when my stupid brother talks to bad guys my senses go on alert.”

 

Cucumber frowned. “You still think he’s a bad guy? He lost immortality and got a third-degree burn for us, you know.”

 

Almond scoffed. “Yeah, okay. He did that. But he still terrorized Dreamside during the first time! No one is holding him accountable for that.”

 

Cucumber glanced away. “I don’t know, Almond. I don’t think he’s bad anymore.”

 

Almond sighed. “Yeah, I know you don’t.”

 

For a moment, the room was left in awkward silence.

 

“Here.” Almond patted a spot on the bed beside her.

 

Cucumber half-smirked to himself. “I can’t believe you still need your ‘stupid brother’ to sleep with you at night.”

 

“I will make you sleep on the floor.”

 

“No, don’t. I’m sorry.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

 

* * *

 

The Knight rummaged through the cabinets, looking for anything other than bananas. He had successfully located where the blender and the cups were. His problem was that he had yet to find anything except for that yellow abomination.

 

Finally, after turning Quakemaster’s mini kitchen upside-down, The Knight conceded defeat. He snarled as he peeled the dastard fruit and glared at it as it blended, feeling satisfied at it’s ‘demise’. He only realised how ridiculous he was being while he was filling himself a glass of the damned thing.

 

The Knight groaned, knocking his head on the counter.

 

He really, really did not like being mortal.

 

He really, really did not like bananas.

 

The Knight shifted through the books in Quakemaster’s shelves. He had an ‘interesting’ variety of titles and genres. The Knight sighed as he replaced the sixth book back on the shelves. Most of them had a similar storyline. They made him wish he had paid more attention to Quakemaster and Obsidian's relationship.

 

The books forgotten, he seated himself and drummed his fingers along the arm of the chair.

 

He really had done his job properly. Even Glitchmaster seemed relieved to have him ‘out of duty’. Quakemaster stamped down his feelings just to avoid having to face his wrath. The only person he could remotely call not being  _ that  _ afraid of him was Rosemaster. That could easily be explained by that time he granted her wish of leaving her old name.

 

The Knight paused. Rosemaster was known for her manipulation. Perhaps even she was afraid of him.

 

A few weeks ago, The Knight would’ve stamped down feelings of guilt. They had to fear him. The alternative was much, much worse than ruined relations.

 

Even if it hurt to see them like that, it had to be done.

 

The Knight’s grip on his glass tightened. The only reason they were alive now was because Steve stole his power. 

 

What would happen when The Knight took it back?

 

Would he be returned to the cycle, forced to play the villain once more?

 

But even then, assuming that he would not physically reject it, the cycle would not work. They know he’s not to be feared, they know that what happened to Mistmaster-

 

Mistmaster.

 

God, what was he going to do about Mistmaster?

 

The Knight dropped his empty glass on the carpeted floor, groaning.

 

Stupid, stupid,  _ stupid _ . Why couldn’t he have  _ just talked  _ to Mistmaster? What in the  _ name of existence  _ made him  _ think  _ that  _ cursing Mistmaster  _ was a  _ good  _ idea?

 

If he had just talked, they wouldn’t be in this situation. If he had somehow covered his tracks better-

 

**“Mistmaster!”**

 

**The Knight shielded himself from the whirlwind that threatened to lift him up on his feet. Somewhere, deep in his mind, The Knight was impressed at Mistmaster’s ability.**

 

**The sight of The Disaster Master himself nearly drove out all rational thought from his mind.**

 

**“I T R U S T E D Y O U!”**

 

The Knight stared at the glass, watching the steady flow of excess banana smoothie flow out and stain the carpet.

 

Slowly, with shaking hands, he grabbed at it. 

 

The Knight unpeeled another banana, wordlessly staring at it while it blended.

 

His mind was blank.

 

He did not know what to do.

 

His body was moving on autopilot, The Knight soon found himself reseated and sipping away at the metal straw. 

 

He didn’t even know why Quakemaster had metal straws. He guessed it would be to save the environment or something. Strangely ethical for a villain.

 

The Knight nearly snorted banana smoothie. What a pot-calling-the-kettle-black scenario.

 

He groaned, nearly spilling the entire contents of the smoothie over. Steve really did not know what he was getting himself into. All that power would be extremely difficult to manage. With what he already had, it was difficult enough. Now, with both of theirs combined...

 

Sometimes, The Knight mused, time travelling would be a very welcome ability. He seemed to have done a number screw-ups in his immortal life. How simple would it be to go back and fix everything; his relationship with his brother, his first impression on Dreamside, cursing Mistmaster.

 

The Knight blinked.

 

Then he blinked again.

 

Oh.

 

He sat up in his chair, desperately trying to follow the tail end of an idea.

 

He may not be able to turn back time, but fixing Mistmaster’s curse was always a possibility. He would constantly bat over the idea when he-

 

The Knight sighed.

 

When he was immortal, with a near-infinite supply of power. It would have been no problem when he could solve all his problems with a wave of his hand.

 

Why didn’t he do that earlier?

 

The Knight leaned back in his chair, disappointment making his stomach churn. Or perhaps that was the smoothie. 

 

Either way, The Knight decided to take out his frustration on the smoothie glass. A rush of satisfaction filled him as he knocked it over, watching the yellow contents spill on the table.

 

Quakemaster was going to kill him.

 

The Knight closed his eyes, exhaustion sweeping over him in waves. Perhaps he should get to sleep. It would be a long day tomorrow. 

 

He was actually still trying to get around the very idea of sleep. They really just do nothing but lay down? He was surprised.

 

Though he supposed that his most recent encounter with sleep wasn’t the most uneventful.

 

Idly, The Knight summoned his scythe. The edges of his exhaustion softened as he gripped the shaft, letting the energy he stored wash over him. A lone, singular chuckle escaped him as he traced the carvings at the bottom. He had been so proud of it the first time, now all he could see was how shaky his hand had been.

 

It was said that the cleaner the carving, the more energy it would be able to take. As of right now, The Knight wished he had been more careful with it. Perhaps he would have been able to store enough power to restore Mistmaster.

 

The Knight paused.

 

The amount of energy required...it would be possible. If he could somehow gain enough fear.

 

The Knight glanced outside the window, at the buildings housing sleeping bunnypeople.

 

After a few moments, The Knight had a notebook opened in front of him and began to write.

 

* * *

 

Peridot yawned as she stepped outside her room, rubbing at her eyes.

 

“Morning, gra-” she jerked to a halt at the view.

 

“Where did you get a whiteboard?”

 

The Knight glanced back from where he was scribbling something incomprehensive. “Oh, you are awake.”

 

Truthfully, she wasn’t until she saw the mess of the plane.

 

“Quake’s not going to be happy,” she commented, stepping over a hastily pushed aside stack of paper.

 

“Hm. He was actually the one gave me the whiteboard. I suppose he did not want me to use too much paper.”

 

Peridot frowned. “Uncool, Gramps. Save the trees.”

 

“Forgive me, I’ll plant a few after Steve’s done.”

 

Peridot decided to let the matter slide; he had a decent excuse.

 

“So, uh.” She crossed her arms as she tried to make sense of it all. “What’cha planning?”

 

The Knight shot her a look. “Oh, please. I know I haven’t written in a while, but I am sure it is  _ readable _ .”

 

Peridot squinted at the dots and squiggles. “Nope, I have no idea what that says.”

 

“Well,  _ Quakemaster  _ says he understands it.”

 

“Not all of it.”

 

Peridot jumped. She shot The Disaster Master a glare. “Where did you come from?”

 

“Outside,” he replied, taking a step into the plane. She could see bright sunlight wafting through the open door.

 

“That is unnaturally bright,” she commented.

 

“The Sun’s risin’ up,” Quakemaster told her.

 

“Oh, that’ll do it.”

 

“What happened?!”

 

Peridot glanced over, her heart doing stupid, stupid horse rodeos in her chest as Almond stepped over the Hastily-Pushed-Aside-Stack-Of-Papers. Behind her, Cucumber peeked over her shoulder, his eyes widening.

 

“Whoa..”

 

“‘Whoa’, exactly, Legendary Hero.” The Knight shot Quakemaster a look. “‘Whoa’ is exactly the sort of reaction you should have when you are in an aeroplane full of sleeping children.”

 

Quakemaster huffed, increasing the amount of smoke that wafted out. “Look, do ya want your markers or not?”

 

“Yes, please. I’m running out.”

 

The Disaster Master threw a wooden-looking case over to The Knight, who frowned as he caught it. 

 

“Don’t worry, it’s bamboo.”

 

The Knight relaxed. “Oh, good. I had already taken up a disturbing amount of paper, I would rather not be guilty of using a wooden box too.” 

 

At the look Peridot received, she merely shrugged. “Realmal Warming is real, gramps. Read the news”

 

Almond gave her a look. “You read the news?”

 

“No, but Cordelia does.”

 

Cucumber rubbed his face. “There it is.”

 

“Seeing as we  _ love _ the environment,” The Knight said as he squiggled some more squiggly lines on the board. “Remind me why plastics were removed?”

 

All of them, save for Quakemaster, gasped.

 

“dID I hEAR tHE FoRbIdDEn WOrd?!” Nautilus leapt into the room, deep and animalistic growls coming from her throat.

 

“No,” The Knight replied, unfazed.

 

“Oh, okay.” Nautilus relaxed, catching up on the mess. The Ripple Princess gasped out a few sounds that didn’t sound like it came from their language. Glancing to the others, Peridot saw reflected looks of bewilderment.

 

The only one who seemed to understand what she said was The Knight, who was staring at her as if she sprouted two heads.

 

Something on Nautie’s shoulders shifted and Peridot was thrown for a loop as a head appeared beside her.

 

“Oh, morning Liquus.” Nautilus shifted whatever was on her shoulders onto her arms.

 

Almond shoved an elbow into her ribs. “You thought she had two heads, didn’t ya?”

 

Peridot whipped her head to face her. “N-No! Why would I, that’s stupid!”

 

Almond snickered. “Sure.”

 

Peridot crossed her arms, huffing.

 

“Sir Nightmare?”

 

Princess Parfait walked into the room, her eyes glued to the Hastily-Shoved-Aside-Stack-Of-Paper. “ _ Quel genre d'incident satanique s'est produit? _ ”

 

Peridot glanced straight to The Knight who, to her disappointment, merely shrugged.

 

“I do not speak french,” he said as a matter of explanation.

 

“You don’t speak french, but you speak whatever language Nautilus speaks and whatever that is?” She gestured to the squiggles on the board.

 

The Knight glanced between the board and her. “...you truly do not understand this?”

 

Everyone shook their heads. “It just looks like a bunch of dots and squiggles,” Cucumber admitted.

 

The Knight rubbed his face. “...I suppose I should have practised more.”

 

Nautilus gave him a sympathetic look as she force-fed Liquus a banana. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you had an excuse.”

 

“Actually, I was just really lazy.”

 

“Oh. Then you deserve this.”

 

“Actually, boss,” Quake interrupted The Knight’s indignant mutterings. “I don’t think it’s your handwriting.”

 

They all turned to look at him. Sir Carrot’s surprised ‘whoa’ was left unnoticed as The Disaster Master continued.

 

“I mean, your handwriting’s got room to improve, but I can recognise a few words.” Quakemaster walked over to the board, pointing at the one in the middle. “Like this; this here’s ‘Mistmaster’.” The Disaster Master crossed his arms. “Looks like you got yourself a plan.”

 

They all shifted their gazes to The Knight. He was staring at the board; Peridot could practically see the gears shifting in his head.

 

“Oh,” The Knight said at last. “Oh. Sorry, wrong language.”

 

Sir Carrot rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “I- did you say ‘wrong language’?”

 

The Knight nodded. “Last time I wrote anything was in this.” He gestured to the squiggles as a whole. 

 

Peridot tilted her head and squinted. After a few moments, she realised that there was a certain pattern to them. The dots and squiggles were written in sentence form.

 

They were symbols.

 

“Sir Nightmare, what type of people would possibly be able to speak that?” Princess Parfait stepped closer to the whiteboard, her eyes wide in wonder.

 

“The Immortals. We have this language branded in us from the moment of creation.”

 

“‘The Immortals’?” Cucumber echoed. “They were more of you?”

 

The Knight paused in his squiggling. “‘Were’, yes.”

 

A heavy and uncomfortable silence filled the room. The Dreamsiders all glanced at each other. A silent argument waged on who would break the silence first.

 

“Ha!”

 

Everyone, Quakemaster included, jumped.

 

Peridot could faintly hear the sigh of relief from Liquus as Nautilus dropped the banana.

 

The Knight dropped the marker with a flourish. “There! All my ineffective mortal processing onto one surface to avoid my puny mortal mind from forgetting.”

 

“Hey,” Sir Carrot protested. “We’re still mortal.”

 

“But you do not understand it..” The Knight groaned, "I suppose I will have to explain.”

 

“C’mon, Gramps. We don’t got all day.” Almond crossed her arms.

 

The Knight shot her a glare. “I find that I prefer you do not call me that.”

 

“Sir Nightmare.” Parfait pressed.

 

“How impatient.”

 

“Gramps.”

 

The Knight raised his hands. “Alright, alright. Here’s the plan.”

 

* * *

* * *

 

 

_ “Brother?” _

 

_ Deimos didn’t jump. He didn’t even turn. He just sat there, suspended in thin air with his legs crossed, staring out the window. _

 

_ The creaking of wood sounded behind him. Idly, Deimos wondered why Oneiros wouldn’t just float. _

 

_ Then he figured that his brother probably didn’t want to startle him. It was funny; he was more surprised at the occasional bursts of intelligence than he would ever be of him. _

 

_ “Brother, why are you upset?” _

 

_ Deimos turned this time, giving his brother his usual smile. “I’m not upset.” _

 

_ Oneiros gave him a look. “Please don’t lie to me. Why won’t you tell me what’s wrong?” _

 

_ Deimos glanced away. “You wouldn’t understand.” _

 

_ For a moment, the attic where he had retreated to was silent. An unexpected hand grabbed at his wrist and pulled. Deimos floundered in the air, flipping over until he came to a stop in an upside-down position. _

 

_ To his brother’s credit, Oneiros really did try to hold in his snickering. “I’m sorry, that wasn’t what I meant to do.” _

 

_ Deimos crossed his arms, giving him a Devil’s Grin. “Oh?” _

 

_ This time, Brother really did snicker, raising a hand to cover his inexistent mouth. Despite his earlier resentment, Deimos couldn’t help the genuine growth of his smile. _

 

_ Brother turned solemn soon after. Deimos had to resist the urge to say,  _ **_‘No, wait. Go back. Keep laughing’_ ** _. So instead The Immortal crossed his arms as he waited for his brother to speak. _

 

_ “Was it the scythe?” _

 

_ Deimos reeled. Truly, it was the moments of intelligence that surprised him the most. _

 

_ Oneiros glanced away, tapping his fingers together. He would do that, Deimos noticed. Brother couldn't stay still whenever something important was about to happen. _

_ “If- If you want me to change, I’ll do it.” Oneiros glanced at him, visibly trying to gauge his expression. “I’ll change into something else.” _

 

_ The suggestion left him speechless. After a few minutes - in which Brother’s fidgeting only got worse - Deimos finally remembered to shake his head. “Nah, it’s fine. I’m not bothered by the scythe.” _

 

_ “Yes, you were.” _

 

_ Deimos felt his smile shrink. “Jeez, bro. I can’t even make my own decisions now, huh?” _

 

_ Oneiros reeled back, blinking.  _

 

_ “I-I didn’t mean that,” he said at last. _

 

_ Deimos glanced away, unwilling to say anything. _

 

_ The attic was silent again, heavier than it was before. _

 

_ “I’m sorry.” _

 

_ He whipped his head to gape at his brother. He wondered if he really hasn’t fully recovered from his power over-use. Or maybe it was one of the times when he fell off the bed. _

 

_ Oneiros returned his gaze. “I didn’t mean to make it seem like that. I’m sorry.” _

 

_ Deimos could only stare. He was tempted to joke, to brush off the awkwardness and to simply make his brother smile again. Though he figured that Oneiros wouldn’t take kindly to that, and he would have to start all over again _

 

_ “Please say something.” _

 

_ He twitched slightly. Brother was staring at him in a mixture of anxiety and, oddly enough, fear. As if he was scared that he hadn’t done the right thing. _

 

_ Brother? Done the wrong thing? The idea was nearly enough to make him laugh. _

 

_ Deimos shifted, positioning himself upright. _

 

_ “It’s okay. It’s not like you knew.” Deimos glanced away. “I guess I was being a- a-” _

 

_ Oneiros gave a singular snicker. “A prick?” _

 

_ This time, Deimos really did laugh. “Yeah, a prick.” _

 

_ Oneiros stared at him, the affection clear in his eyes. _

 

_ “Anyway, you couldn’t change it anyway. It’s like a trademark now. If you’d read those books I suggested-” _

 

_ “I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again; ‘Nerd’.” _

 

_ “That word doesn’t even exist.” _

 

_ “It does now.” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, a plan!  
> But you didn't have to use all that paper.
> 
> Remember kids, Global Warming is real! The Amazon forest has been burning for days! All our ice caps are melting! We are going to die!  
> Unless we do something!  
> Remember, a big part of the ocean's pollution actually comes from fishnets!  
> If you don't want to swear off meat as a whole, try to eat more chicken and cows!
> 
> And yes, Oneiros did invent the word; 'Nerd'  
> He calls his brother that.  
> He made it.  
> It's his.  
> You can't convince me otherwise.


End file.
